An ethnographic study examined the nature of social and cultural contexts as they shaped literary practices in a combined fifth/sixth-grade classroom. Research questions focused on the meanings given to the reading and discussion of literature within the embedded contexts of classroom and community. The five focal students for the study differed…

A study explored how small groups of student readers interacted in a classroom over time to interpret short stories assigned by a teacher who functioned as participant/observer. The study focused on multiple readers in actual classroom situations to consider the relationship between the social and academic elements observable during day-to-day…

Community college students arrive with a diversity of learning styles, study skills, and test anxiety levels. The study described here was conducted to determine whether activity grouping of students according to learning style (incorporating at least two different styles in each group) contributes to improved student performance. In the spring of…

This document describes the Mentors, Peer Groups, and Incentives (MPI) demonstration project, a model for helping early adolescent underclass males to improve academic performance and reduce the probability of premature fatherhood. A first section discusses the working definition of the underclass as a group where dysfunctional behaviors are…

This booklet, suitable for intermediate grade and junior high school students, concerns drug education and development of decision-making skills regarding drug use. Following an introduction, material is divided into four parts. Part 1, a glossary, defines such basic vocabulary as addiction, overdose, withdrawal, and dependence, and differentiates…

This study examined attitudes and practices in two risk-taking areas of behavior while under the influence of alcohol--driving and sexuality--within important campus peer subcultures defined by class level and residency associations. Data were drawn from a research project to explore these and other related variables in a major northeastern…

Prepared to assist teachers who are using the case in class discussion, this case study describes a suburban, college-preparatory high school located in the pseudonymously named "Northwood," a midwestern "rust belt" city characterized by rapidly shifting demographics and a growing commercial tax base. Although the city is now…

While not an instructional panacea, peer involvement in second language learning can provide a rich and productive supplement to the second language classroom experience. It casts learners and teachers into new roles that may lead to a variety of benefits, enriching the total educational and social environment. The systematic use of peer teachers…

The contributions of peer interaction to the development of social competence in kindergarten children are discussed in terms of research findings and implications for teachers. Using naturalistic methodology, social behavior was studied by observing interactions among children in classroom settings without direct adult supervision. In peer…

Intended for college-level basic writers, this booklet integrates training in selected oral communication activities with writing instruction in order to improve students' academic writing. The first section discusses oral communication theory, emphasizing the underlying rhetorical abilities of invention, audience adaptation, and argumentation, to…

A study was conducted at Bunker Hill Community College to assess the impact of the use of learning groups on student absenteeism and academic performance. The study involved four sections of a Biology 1 class. Two sections were designated as the control group and were taught using the traditional course format, which involved a 2-hour session in…

Current research on adolescence provides plenty of facts about delinquency, unemployment, and illegitimacy, yet tells us little or nothing about the inner life of adolescents. In an attempt to provide more information, the research reported on here describes the "periods" of adolescence as they are structured in the various…

The Catalyst Training Package was developed by project On The Other Hand, a 16-month project which used two rural Vermont high school districts to field test materials focused on educating youth to reach their full potential, and the roles of men and women in society. Three basic strategies were used to improve educational equity in rural high…

The nature of adolescent sexuality, pregnancy and childbearing is undergoing important transformations that have made early parenthood more visible and problematic. A review of the literature confirms that adolescent pregnancy is far from a random event. Research indicates differences, often substantial, among those who have sex or abstain and…

This article discusses the results of two qualitative studies concerning a group of 58 African American girls attending an urban school district. Findings from the first study document year one of a longitudinal project examining how the girls develop socially and academically in a state-operated school district. Data from the second study…