This paper focuses on the answering and asking of questions in college-level courses and makes suggestions regarding questioning techniques for lecture classes and discussion groups. "Question" (Q) is defined as "any eliciting of an answer (response) regardless of grammatical form. "Answer" (A) is defined as "any…

Group discussion can be very effective in building a sense of community in any adult basic education (ABE) classroom. Such discussion can generate conversation, encourage participation, and create an accepting environment where sharing experiences and ideas feels safe to all participants. When trying the technique of group discussion with a new…

A classroom discussion activity is described that uses the teacher as an impartial moderator. Students' written responses to a selected subject are organized and commented on by the group, under the teacher's supervision. Suggestions are given for course organization and sequence, extent of teacher involvement in the discussion, and logistics.…

Presents techniques for stimulating and managing worthwhile class discussion sessions. (Editor/SJL)

Discusses how teachers can plan time for talking with their students. The techniques proposed are circle time, where the students sit in a circle around the teacher and talk about reading, and individual interviews, where teachers converse one-on-one for 5 to 10 minutes with students. (SKC)

Describes the group leadership skills that a teacher needs to conduct a class meeting according to William Glasser's reality therapy model. (SJL)

Concern circles provide a comfortable approach to classroom counseling. A first grade teacher describes how she provided a support network to deal with students' emotional concerns. The 15-minute sessions, held each morning, allowed the children to take a more active role in resolving their own conflicts. (SM)

This essay argues that the development of leadership skills in the education of college students should be on the agenda of all faculty and describes ways to build the development of leadership skills into virtually any course or program of study through a technique called Reflective Controversy. An opening phase of the essay describes the signs…

Literature Circles encourage critical thinking, inspire rich discussion-based activities, and promote effective communication. This book provides the tools and techniques teachers need to set up literature circles in their classrooms. The book's authors, two inner city elementary teachers, show how to teach and use roles effectively and maintain…

This ERIC digest looks at how college faculty can use cooperative learning principles to ensure that students actively create their own knowledge and work together to achieve shared learning goals. The first section describes cooperative learning and recommends training professors to apply an overall system to build cooperative activities,…

Reports on an exploratory study examining the conditions that contribute to the frequency with which social studies teachers use groupwork. Uses both quantitative and qualitative methods. Finds that the factors contributing to use of groupwork are school and classroom factors, and teaching objectives. (SLM)

This booklet is the third of three sequels to "A Guide to the Selection of Instructional Methods." Following a brief introduction, characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses of five group learning techniques are examined: (1) buzz sessions and similar small-group exercises; (2) class discussions, seminars, and tutorials; (3) participative…

Intended for practitioners involved in working with groups in basic education, this book provides some ideas on suitable approaches. An introduction addresses where group work takes place and why a group approach is used. A discussion of starting points covers first meetings, planning and preparing, and teaching aids. A description of a group…

Written by teachers for teachers, this book on language in the classroom is concerned with the various ways children are taught and the various ways they learn in response to that teaching. Chapter 1 analyzes the prewriting discussion of a group of 16 year olds to provide a model of language in use, and suggests four factors affecting the quality…

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data included in America's Challenge: Accelerating Academic Achievement, indicate the scope of the task of reaching the National Goal for Education on Student Achievement and Citizenship. This discussion guide focuses on the five corollary objectives of the National Goal, which are to: (1)…