The study was designed to increase student commitment to Christian education and was conducted in a church youth group of 150 students in grades 6-12, located in a moderate-sized county. The Wednesday evening program for 6th-12th-grade students was attended by a larger number of youth each week than the Sunday A.M. christian education program.…

An 8-month practicum addressed the adverse feelings for writing (shown in responses to a writing survey) of 30 intermediate-level students. Ten students from each grade level (third, fourth, and fifth) with the lowest scores completed the practicum activities. Students viewed a film for the first strategy. The students' reactions to the film…

A program of paired, repeated reading was developed to improve the achievement in reading comprehension of 14 targeted third-grade students. The program had three basic objectives: (1) to increase literal comprehension by 25%; (2) to increase inference of main idea by 25%; and (3) to increase inference skills of drawing conclusions by 25%. The…

A study investigated whether there was a positive relationship between collaborative learning techniques and the improvement of writing skills of college freshmen over a single semester. Two English Composition II classes of approximately 20 student each were randomly selected for the study. Over the course of one semester, one class received…

A practicum was designed to help high school students become more creative by encouraging them to be audacious, divergent thinkers capable of entertaining several contradictory ideas simultaneously. Tolerating paradox and ambiguity are vital components in developing creativity. These goals were achieved by developing a nurturing, caring, accepting…

A reading comprehension program was developed and implemented that addressed the needs of sixth-grade students. The program focused on critical thinking skills using a teamwork approach. Each heterogeneous small group used a checklist composed of before, during, and after reading questions and activities. At the conclusion of the 12-week…

A practicum was designed to intervene and assist borderline elementary school RSP (Resource Specialist Program) students in special education classes and/or through extra assistance within the regular classroom. Borderline RSP students who had been referred to the Student Study Team (SST) for below-grade-level scores and classroom functioning in…

The inability of students to become involved with writing assignments in two high-school sophomore honors classes was addressed at a writer's workshop by the implementation of collaborative learning, peer evaluation, conferencing, and broadened literature selection. Students responded to pre-workshop and post-workshop surveys to assess individual…

To determine the effect of collaborative learning methods on the success rate of physics students at Northern Maine Technical College (NMTC), a study was undertaken to compare the mean final exam scores of a students in a physics course taught by traditional lecture/lab methods to those in a group taught by collaborative techniques. The…

This paper describes the outcomes of a program developed and implemented to increase work completion in social studies, along with attending and cooperative behaviors for suburban elementary school students with severe emotional disturbances (SED). The objectives of the program were to increase the work completion of at least 6 of the 8 students…

A project to improve the social skills of kindergarten children in a multicultural setting by a simple peace education program was implemented. Noting that kindergarten children did not exhibit good social skills and were not able to solve conflicts in a peaceful manner, the project was designed to incorporate and increase group problem solving,…

A practicum analyzed possible alternatives to identify the most successful reading intervention strategies before a child's development and learning is seriously or permanently impaired. K-3 students were identified for an early intervention reading program in a public school setting, through the Students Study Team, which was expanded to include…

This practicum was designed to provide low-achieving first graders with the opportunity to improve their concept of what a word is and motivate children to become more enthusiastic about the reading process. Cooperative learning, cross-age tutoring, and skill-oriented instruction were utilized in the classroom during the 3-month period to…

A practicum attempted to improve the low reading achievement of Chapter 1 students in a low socioeconomic fifth-grade class by implementing a self-esteem building program. Activities were designed in a workbook format to complement class instruction in self-esteem building exercises. An emphasis on critical thinking skills was incorporated into…

Cooperative learning lessons in mathematics were instituted in 6 learning disability elementary classrooms serving a total of 47 students. Verbal rehearsal and collaboration were intended to reinforce the internalization and generalization of skills. Structured social interaction was intended to facilitate peer acceptance. Although two of the…