Describes a three-year project devoted to fostering semester-long e-mail exchanges between American and German college students. Based on the tandem approach to language learning, peer tutoring via e-mail helped improve students' writing ability and cross-cultural competence. Presents types of writing activities and suggestions for setting up…

This article describes peer coaching as a method for teacher improvement and offers guidelines for establishing a peer coaching program for early childhood and early childhood special education teachers and related services professionals. It also identifies common problems and possible solutions of peer coaching programs. Sample forms for use in…

The Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) school district's staff development program uses in-house expertise. Lead teachers mentor other elementary teachers in language arts while interns cover their classes. Teachers learn new teaching practices in their own classrooms, with their own students and materials, during the regular school day. A sidebar describes…

Investigated the effects of a peer network strategy on the duration of social interaction and social communication skills for three elementary students with autism. Results indicate increased social interaction time and use of an augmentative communication system for all three students, with increased expressive language for two students.…

Investigates the effects of children solving addition and subtraction problems collaboratively in contrast to solving problems on their own. Explores the effects of ability and gender on the outcomes of group collaboration. Presents and discusses the results. Includes references and an appendix. (CMK)

Twelve elementary students with learning disabilities and 42 students at risk for special education referral served as tutors for younger children. Half the tutors were trained to make statements attributing success to ability and effort, as well as strategy suggestions for errors. These tutors became more positive in their self-perceptions than…

Focuses on the assurance by the Alliance Francaise of Paris of professional development of future teachers of foreign languages. The article describes the members of the Alliance as professors at the Foreign Language School of Paris with university training in such diverse fields as linguistics, modern languages, education, and philosophy. Their…

One college teacher's approach to writing instruction focuses on grading to encourage learning, using a marking system that clarifies distinctions between content and mechanics, and removes the punitive aspect of grading. The system is rewarding and motivational for both students and teacher. In addition, the course includes individual…

This study evaluated the effects of peer coaching of five low-performing special education teacher trainees learning to deliver direct instruction procedures to elementary students with mild disabilities. High-performing peers used videotapes and individual counseling to help trainees. Results indicated increased effective teaching behaviors by…

This article presents practical and specific strategies for helping students with writing difficulties become successful in each of the following stages of the writing process: prewriting, writing, revising, and publishing. Recommendations include using visual images, modeling prewriting procedures, providing word banks, providing a…

A study examined the effects of self-prompted communication book training provided by peers on the conversational initiations of four high school students with extensive support needs. The intervention was associated with increases in participant's appropriate initiations and general education conversational partners' corresponding responses.…

This article describes how a program to involve peers without disabilities in the delivery of incidental information to students with disabilities was implemented in elementary and secondary classrooms. Guidelines are presented for peer presentation of nontargeted information, along with examples ways in which students with disabilities have…

A study involving 19 low achieving first-graders investigated the effectiveness of two grouping adaptation strategies (heterogeneous small-groups versus peer tutoring) to accommodate individual and group differences in mathematics learning. Results revealed a significant increase in number sense and arithmetic skills when pupils worked in pairs.…

Examined the effects of a dyadic peer-mediated treatment on kindergarten children's mathematics development. Found that treatment implementation was strong for most teachers; teachers judged the treatment to be effective and feasible for implementation on their own; and students with and without disabilities, at all points along the achievement…

In this article, I reflect on the events and experiences that occurred during (and after) my studies for a Diploma in Teacher Education. The elements required for the award of Diploma included a professional development journal, a number of peer teaching observations and an action research project. At an early stage, I selected vaguely "peer…