This paper brings into focus what can happen when a person is both a researcher and a teacher in two different classrooms almost at the same time. In the two classrooms project work is the subject of inquiry and the working method used. The aim of the research was to figure out how group work and collaborative processes function during project…

A. N. Leontiev (1978) introduced the philosophical concept of practice, or "objective activity" into psychology to reconsider its foundations, and in this context he elaborated the concept of the object of activity. This article deals with the co-formation of an object of a collective activity and of the goals, motives and capabilities…

For the thirty-fifth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the national AECT Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

This is an activity-based teacher's guide to fostering positive group interaction through imagined experience and discussion at Key Stages 2 and 3. In a series of interactive workshops, each one providing a context, a scenario and a list of characters; pupils are invited to engage in discussion, debate and negotiation to solve problems and meet…

While much time has been spent deliberating about the definition of play, little emphasis has been placed on what children themselves perceive as play. The aim of the present study was to examine social context as a cue for children's perceptions of play and learning. Ninety-two children aged between four and six years (mean four years nine…

This sixth grade teaching unit covers Soviet propaganda, communism, relations with the United States, Soviet geography, Soviet arts, and Soviet life. Unit goals address the above content areas, map skills, and an attitudinal goal of helping students to develop a sense of respect for the life of Soviet citizens. Behavioral objectives are keyed to…

This third grade teaching unit on the USSR covers an introduction to the Soviet Union and its people, its government, daily lifestyles, folk culture, and geography. Skill goals deal with telling the difference between facts and opinions, comparing cultures, and integrating and applying information from various topics about the Soviet Union to…

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how collaborative problem solving affects individual mathematical problem-solving ability. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations were conducted, focusing on four students in the same fourth grade mathematics class in Taipei, Taiwan, as they participated in two steps of individual problem-solving…

Rudeness and status can affect group-problem-solving processes. A new statistical method for analyzing group processes was used to analyze predictors of agreement and solution score. In successful groups, agreement was affected positively by academic status and negatively by justifications. In unsuccessful groups, however, agreement was affected…

The "ask and answer" speaking technique, designed as a follow-up to reading, aims to capitalize on opportunities for incidental vocabulary learning. This article describes the technique and examines the vocabulary use of a group of young English-as-a-Second-Language learners engaged in "ask and answer" tasks. Suggestions for teachers are offered.…

Reading activities that include more than one person working together on one or more texts offer more than social or tedium-breaking possibilities. Various independent and integrated reading activities are described, including mapping and jigsaw reading. (19 references) (LB)

As part of a British secondary school's annual three-day special program, one day focused on outdoor problem-solving activities for groups at each grade level. Describes the themes of the day and specific problems undertaken by groups in grades 7-10. (SV)

Presents a lesson that focuses on Lithuanian efforts to gain their freedom and their role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Describes various learning activities that foster understanding of this topic, such as having the students dramatize important events in Lithuania's struggle for independence. (CMK)

Explores the pitfalls that may be encountered when group assessment is used as a means of evaluation, especially when the students involved are not native speakers of English. Issues of cultural differences and their impact on group formation and the problems surrounding free-loading in the group assessment are discussed. (Author/VWL) (Adjunct…

Group projects in computer science are normally delivered with reference to good software engineering practice. The discipline of software engineering is rapidly evolving, and the application of the latest 'agile techniques' to group projects causes a potential conflict with constraints imposed by regulating bodies on the computer science…