Describes Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies for First-Grade Readers, a type of classwide peer tutoring designed specifically to help general-education teachers prevent, or at least reduce, early reading failure. A description of program components, empirical evidence of its effectiveness, and case studies are presented. (Author/CR)

Examines the effects of classwide peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS) in mathematics incorporating the use of curriculum-based measurement on acquisition and transfer learning of three types of students (average-achieving student, low-achieving students, and students with a learning disability). Analysis of variance indicates superior…

Describes the integrated approach to instructional consultation used at the Centre for University Teaching and Learning at McGill University (Canada). Emphasis is on teaching improvement as a conceptual change process, discipline-specific applications as situated learning, and development of a dispersed network of faculty consultants. Implications…

Describes an approach to faculty development that relies on faculty learning from one another through peer observation. Rather than equating such observation with evaluating a colleague's performance, faculty observers are urged to approach the assignment as "students of teaching." (DB)

This article describes the Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) program for developing reading skills in grades 2-6. It notes a 3rd grade teacher's perspective and reports on research and development efforts supporting use of PALS reading with students with learning disabilities. Noted is the recent extension of PALS reading downward into…

This article focuses on several approaches for schools to use of improve school climate, in part to prevent violence or at least to improve student behavioral conflicts, including: parent and community involvement, character education, violence-prevention and conflict-resolution curricula, peer mediation, and bullying prevention. (Contains…

A study that compared two instructional strategies for teaching reading comprehension to fourth-grade students found no differences between a peer-assisted procedure involving 25 students working in dyads to ask and answer questions and a teacher-assisted procedure involving 23 students working alone to develop questions followed by class…

Australian older adults were trained to act as advocates and role models to inform peers on effective use of medicines. Trainees reported difficulties experienced by older learners when training is too concentrated. Many noted increased self-esteem and personal growth as a result of their involvement. (SK)

To fulfill internship requirements, fourth-year nursing students coached novice students. Coaches served as peer teachers for novices on their first clinical rotation, developing leadership and clinical-teaching skills. (SK)

This article describes how a variety of peer-mediated instruction and intervention might assist teachers in meeting the needs of students with mild disabilities in inclusive classrooms. The needs of these students, peer-teaching methods such as class wide student tutoring teams and Numbered Heads Together, and future research directions are…

"How the World Works" is an interdisciplinary science and mathematics course in which students design and perform their own experiments, analyze the data, and present their results orally and in writing. Evaluations indicate that most students learn how to do science and gain a better appreciation for science as a process. (SAH)

In interviews, Scottish adults aged 55-96 in formal, self-help, and distance learning or not participating in group learning reflected on the process of working together to make meaning and on beliefs about learning, education, knowledge, and wisdom. The research process itself was a learning experience for subjects and interviewer. (SK)

Describes a survey of 54 tutors in a peer tutoring program that examined the knowledge the tutors had gained concerning methods of student learning. Discusses responses regarding strategies that promote learning, the most effective instructional methods, and self-directed learning. Includes a list of cited tutorial methods. (27 citations) (MAB)

After an evaluation by students rated the administrative internship in a leadership preparation program as valuable but not rigorous, two faculty members at Valdosta State College (Georgia) evaluated the program and recommended revisions, using peer coaching for professional development and program improvement. (SLD)

Suggests that teachers can use a number of strategies to cope with the daily challenges of teaching and increase their effectiveness in an inclusive environment. Discusses using peer tutors, implementing cooperative learning, and applying reverse-inclusion techniques to provide successful learning for all students. (RS)