An experiment using small, cooperating learning teams to increase cross-ethnic friendships was replicated in Toronto with positive results, using 146 sixth-graders from 6 schools. Cooperation in learning, rarely employed in classrooms, would lessen conflict caused by home-school differences in emphasis on cooperation/competition for indigenous…

Describes an investigation into the use of the World Wide Web as a teaching tool in a computer studies methods course and a computer literacy course at two Australian universities. Student and teacher evaluations highlighted the positive outcomes resulting from student-centered, collaborative learning using the Web. (SM)

Presents a classroom investigation conducted in the framework of Exploratory Practice (EP) and illustrates EP's potential for developing a research culture in a university institution. Illustrates how investigation into group work arose from interest in developing a culture of inquiry and concludes with a note of caution concerning the pace of…

Describes teaching methods employed in German elementary school classrooms that develop discovery, creativity, and a spirit of cooperation in students learning mathematics. Methods included free choice of learning activities by students and small group cooperative activities. Students' motivation, self-confidence, social and communications skills,…

Studies whether Chinese children are more cooperative, whereas U.S. children are more competitive, using 76 10- to 12-year-old children in each country. Results using the Social Values Task indicate that Chinese children favor strategies that result in equality and group enhancement, and U.S. children favor individualistic and competitive…

A first-year course in the computer-based educational media design curriculum at the University of Twente (Netherlands) uses the World Wide Web as an integrated course environment; collaborative group-based learning is the basis of the instruction. The Web is used to make evaluation-oriented activities part of the ongoing student experience.…

Much of the research in outdoor education has focused on participant outcomes rather than the aspects of the experience that elicited those outcomes. This study explores the key elements of a 10-week expedition to Ghana with Raleigh International. Data collection involved five rounds of interviews with 14 British participants over a one-year…

The aim of this small-scale study was to investigate the effect of pupil-generated ground rules on peer group learning in a class of 9-year-old boys. The study examined the type of talk used by participants working in a group before the introduction of ground rules and compared this with that used after the introduction of ground rules. It was…

Children's relationships with their peers become more intimate as they grow older, with girls tending to experience intimacy in their friendships at an earlier age than their male counterparts. The size, friendship composition, and activity of elementary school children's play groups were recorded in an attempt to identify probable environmental…

The Partnership in Education Project works to raise the educational level of children living in a number of priority areas in Scotland. In order to achieve this aim, the project seeks to develop parents' skills as child educators, and foster partnerships between educational professionals and parents. The project's work is based on six principles:…

Three studies of cooperative problem solving among university students examined how to design effective computer-based support for collaborative learning in distance education. The first was a questionnaire study of 150 Open University students who had participated in three different courses in physics and mathematics. Its aim was to determine…

A study investigating collaborative computer use for writing at the primary level was conducted at a Catholic school in Toronto through videotaping and observation in a first grade classroom over a period of 3 weeks. It was found that the differentiation of tasks by the computer into two types of acts--inputting signs and arranging text--was…

The observational data from a project which was designed to implement and monitor the effects of an inservice program in facilitating a non-sexist approach to the teaching of science in Australian primary schools are reported in this paper. Descriptions and analyses are provided both of the children's participation in activity-centered lessons on…

Based upon accumulated field staff experience from years past, the bilingual manual is designed to be used on both a day-to-day basis as needs present themselves and for long-term planning by staff of Katimavik, a nine-month volunteer community service and learning program for 17 to 21-year-old Canadian youth. The manual is divided into three…

An innovative project of cooperative evaluation by principals and teachers of their schools was initiated in 1977 in over 70 large primary schools throughout Queensland, Australia. The background and purposes of the project are described and a schedule for a school evaluation project is suggested. A booklet "A Guide for Cooperative School…