Assesses distance learners' reactions to STILE (Students' and Teachers' Integrated Learning Environment), a project which used computer-mediated communication in the United Kingdom and Europe. Findings in four areas are discussed: (1) availability to collaborate; (2) interest in exercises for groupwork; (3) collaboration on extra material; and (4)…

Case studies at the University of Northumbria (England) are investigating the impact of assessment methods such as unconventional exams, oral presentations, group projects, and peer assessment. Many positive effects on learning have been identified and students strongly support new assessment methods; problems include the difficulty in…

For 72 new workers in a British automotive corporation, self-confidence was enhanced by participation in a ropes course. While general debriefing (addressing a wide variety of human behaviors) and specific debriefing (centered solely on self-confidence) contributed to these improvements, the benefits that accrued from specific debriefing were…

Discusses the effect of collaboration via e-mail links on the quality of 10- to 11-year-old students' science investigative skills in six elementary rural schools. The project identified several important issues related to teacher-inservice training requirements, development in cooperative groupwork for children, and software design. (AIM)

Describes the 'Geography for the New Undergraduate' project that is based at Liverpool (England) Hope University College and aims to develop a program of seminars (small-group teaching sessions) to enable first year undergraduate students to acquire a range of skills that will enhance their degree studies and future careers. (CMK)

Investigates whether experience with a balance beam task at which children succeed could be transferred to a related problem (balancing familiar everyday objects) and the extent to which transfer of knowledge was assisted by adult scaffolding and a condition where children worked alone. Finds that the scaffolding condition was most effective. (CMK)

Examines American and Italian children's early literacy awareness and activities in preschools. Reveals that children take literacy activities and knowledge from formal lessons and then use, refine, and extend these activites with peers. Considers implications of these findings for theoretical work on children's peer cultures and development of…

Traditional non-computerized learning environments are typically founded on an understanding of learning as acquiring silence for an effective "individual learning process". Recently, it has also been reported that the high expectations for the impact of computer-based technology on educational practice have not been realized. This paper…

To study the effects of structured cooperative learning environments on helping interactions and behaviors in the early, middle, and later primary school years, a study was conducted in 11 classrooms across 4 schools in suburban Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Subjects were 172 children (56 in year 2, 68 in year 4, and 52 in year 6). Through…

At present, teachers' inservice training assumes an enormous importance in the realization of educational reforms in European countries. This paper describes several descriptive models for teacher training. Then, the development of inservice training is examined according to the "change paradigm" and the "problem-solving…

The process of students' conceptual change was evaluated during a computer-supported physics unit in a Grade 10 science class. Computer simulation programs were developed to confront students' alternative conceptions in mechanics. A conceptual test was administered as pre-, post-, and delayed post-tests to determine students' conceptual change.…

A stage in the development of new courses is discussed. Advice is given to course teams in the social sciences faculty at the Open University (England) on arranging for course team review of drafts of new courses. Several methods are discussed briefly: the traditional method of circulating drafts in the course team and having a discussion with the…

A three-year study investigated the territorial behavior of children in a spatially unstructured library setting. The children's various solutions to the lack of spatial structure are described, and implications for libraries dealing with groups of children are discussed. (Author/CLB)

Innovative uses of technology for French language instruction are examined, including interactive video, information networks, and electronic mail. Illustrations are drawn from systems used in France. (MSE)

The article presents identity-based training created on the basis of the social identity theory, categorization theory and common identity model. Training consists of three parts: (1) multiplicity and salience of identity; (2) identity as a course of conflicts; (3) ways for tolerance recategorisation, decategorisation, and mutual differentiation.…