This paper presents findings of a study that examined the influence of organizational and instructional factors on the efficacy of cooperative learning in Dutch classrooms, as measured by student achievement. To answer the question "What is the degree to which primary schools in the Netherlands use cooperative learning," a questionnaire…

This study was conducted to explore the relationship between teaching methods and students' grades at the college level. Subjects, 58 undergraduate students enrolled in 2 introductory education courses, were organized into groups and exposed to one of two teaching methods: the lecture format and reciprocal teaching. Reciprocal teaching engages…

This study was designed to improve spelling performance of 17 mainstreamed elementary special education students by developing self-regulatory mechanisms and by training the regular classroom teacher and parents in ways to meet the handicapped student's learning needs. A variety of intervention techniques was employed including homework…

This workbook presents guidelines and information on the use of cooperative learning (an instructional technique that requires students to work together in small, fixed groups on a structured learning task) and the development and implementation of student learning teams in postsecondary education. The workbook covers: (1) a definition of…

Data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) and the Hopkins Enhancement Survey of NELS:88 Middle Grades Practices were used to examine the prevalence and antecedents of different types of remedial activities in the middle grades. Data were also used to estimate the effects of remedial activities on the mathematics and…

This paper describes an academic assistance program designed to help ethnic minority students adjust to the demands of university life and succeed both academically and personally. The Excel program has three major components: a two-semester, two-credit core seminar; weekly instructional support groups; and peer led tutorial/discussion groups. The…

Peer coaching, in which two teachers observe each other's classes with the objective of helping each other improve their instructional abilities, empowers teaching professionals by enabling them to develop their own criteria for evaluation of and responsibility for quality classroom performance. Peer coaching can involve collaborative, expert, or…

This paper describes the application of peer teaching to the training of prospective special education teachers. This approach emphasizes practicing the teaching act in a safe environment, i.e., one in which young learners are not at risk and in which the prospective teacher can receive feedback from peers and the instructor without fear of being…

In the practicum reported in this document, the self-esteem of low achievers in a high school science class was improved through the use of strategies such as personal self-referent verbal statements (PSRVS), group activities, incentive programs, motivation techniques such as computer assisted instruction (CAI) and parental involvement. A…

"Lifewriting" provides a different model for the school composition class, a model that changes the traditional images of the student and teacher at work. Lifewriting--the composing of personal stories, anecdotes, and memoirs--has a beneficial effect in that while it begins with personal expression, the dynamics of the lifewriting group…

This manual is intended to train parents of handicapped children to assist other parents in accessing the special education resources available in the Chicago (Illinois) Public Schools. The training program's purposes include: to increase parents' understanding of special education services, to train parents to work as collaborators with school…

In 1986, the Keep Youth in School Project, a joint venture of the Catholic University of America, the Family and Child Services of Washington, D.C., the District of Columbia Department of Human Services, and the Marriott Corporation, began a 3-year research and demonstration program to develop a practice model for helping minority foster children…

During winter semester 1989, Monroe County Community College (MCCC) developed a Writing Fellows program and introduced a Writing Center into the Learning Assistance Lab (LAL). Both these iniatives were part of the school's writing-across-the-curriculum (WAC) efforts which had been launched in fall 1987. Writing Fellows are specially-trained peer…

In a cooperative task, American Indian elementary students produced bilingual natural history dictionaries using a Macintosh computer. Students in grades 3 through 8 attended weekly, multi-graded bilingual classes in Hupa/English or Yurok/English, held at two public school field sites for training elementary teaching-credential candidates. Teams…

On the basis of a model established for the teaching of various linguistic and writing classes, a collaborative learning model was used for class instruction and for the training of teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL). The model involved: (1) trainee presentations based on the explanation of material from assigned readings in the…