In U.S. colleges and universities, much attention has been focused on the need to improve teaching quality and to involve students in the learning process. At the same time, many faculty members are faced with growing class sizes and with time pressures due to research demands. One useful technique is to divide the class into small groups and…

Students who are well prepared academically and highly motivated tend to do well in college and persist to graduation. But for various reasons--some of which are beyond their control-- many students lack the requisite academic background for college-level work. As a result, most colleges and universities enroll students with a wide range of…

A two-day roundtable on preparing the next generation of academic leadership convened by the Association of American Colleges is summarized. Issues relating to academic leadership and what might be done to enlarge the pool of potential leaders are discussed. (MLW)

A college teacher used cooperative learning in English as a Second Language and linguistics classrooms. She discovered international students enjoyed working and writing in small groups and getting to know other students. Linguistics students enjoyed whole-class cooperative projects and papers. All students gained experience in being colleagues.…

Connecticut College's intensive summer academic program involves high school students and their teachers, parents, college faculty, and college students in the minority recruitment effort, building a support team for college-bound students and providing an experience that is mutually beneficial for all parties. (MSE)

A staff member of the Outdoor Adventures Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln relates his experience in supervising the construction of the first low ropes course in Yucatan, Mexico. During 1994, two staff members visited Yucatan to explore trip possibilities for the program and to inquire about a future conference location. While leading…

This guide on leadership is intended for college students exploring the nature of leadership, the leadership role, and individual leadership styles. The frame of reference used combines educational and psychological perspectives that emphasize learning about oneself and understanding oneself in relation to others. Chapters are organized around…

Students from science, engineering, and technology programs should be able to work together as members of project teams to find solutions to technical problems. The exercise in this paper describes the methods actually used by a project team from a Biomedical Instrumentation Corporation in which scientists, technicians, and engineers from various…

This book offers an overview of the cooperative learning process, including its rationale, research base, value, and practical considerations, with an emphasis on two key characteristics: cooperative learning's ability to create communities within classrooms, and well-structured, sequenced assignments which allow students to internalize…

A large introductory anthropology course at Utah State University was organized to promote collaboration among and between students and faculty. Students were divided into and worked in "clans" for the entire term. A study of the course suggests that learning and a sense of community resulted directly from this organization. (MSE)

Defines case methods, a potentially valuable instructional tool for encouraging authentic, active learning. Describes an approach to the design and use of instructional design (ID) cases, and reports on the design and use of a Web-based ID case in a team case competition involving six universities. Team collaboration and competition were noted as…

This study examined whether preservice teachers' understanding of collaborative consultation improves significantly during undergraduate training and whether they receive experiences working with other school professionals. The study compared the perceptions of 128 college freshmen with 130 college seniors at a mid-sized, midwestern university.…

The typical undergraduate program in computer science includes an introduction to hardware and operating systems, file processing and database organization, data communication and networking, and programming. However, many graduates may lack the ability to integrate the concepts "learned" into a skill set and pattern of approaching problems that…

This study examines the impact of a leadership education retreat through the eyes of six undergraduate college men who participated in The Institute for Men of Principle at a midwestern college. What influences shape their definition and experience of leadership? Entry and exit interviews were conducted along with field notes from observations…

This study is the final report of an investigation into the effectiveness of Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD), a system of cooperative learning at the postsecondary level. The study specifically examined the relationships between a student's evaluation of his/her own effectiveness as a STAD team member, and other variables in a…