This study was conducted in 1989 in a suburban school district in Oregon for the purpose of determining the impact of high, medium, and low usage levels of cooperative learning on teacher efficacy. Elementary school teachers in the district were engaged in a staff development training program for teaching cooperative learning in the classroom.…

Originally developed as part of a project for the Department of Defense Schools (DoDDS) system, this learning package on peer response in learning to write is designed for teachers who wish to upgrade or expand their teaching skills on their own. The package includes an overview of the project; a comprehensive search of the ERIC database; a…

This article notes that one constraint to learning business English in Eastern Europe, particularly in the Ukraine, is the lack of adequate and culturally-relevant textbooks and other teaching materials. It suggests that the best solution would be to write a new textbook that combines the latest achievements of the western world with cultural…

These proceedings contain reviewed and edited papers from the 23rd annual meeting of the Western Australian Science Education Association (WASEA). Papers include: (1) Using Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to Validate a Questionnaire to Describe Science Teacher Behavior in Taiwan and Australia (Darrell Fisher, David Henderson, and…

This paper describes an alternative instructional concept--a distance learning/cohort teaching/cohort student grouping--that used the Internet to deliver instruction. Twenty graduate students at two universities, Southern Illinois University and the University of Southern Mississippi, subscribed to a listserv and worked cooperatively on a case…

This paper presents interface guidelines from research at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) School of Information Sciences in developing a collaborative, problem-based learning environment for the World Wide Web. The lessons learned are based on student use and evaluation of three interface prototypes over the course of 3 years and…

Discusses the use of a teaching fellows program (undergraduates teaching undergraduates) in a psychology laboratory class. Examines the goals, outcomes, curriculum, and implementation of the laboratory class and how these were impacted through the use of teaching fellows. Includes a table showing curriculum, content area, laboratory activities,…

Faculty members at Washington State University's College of Education discuss their work in cultural diversity, focusing on school and classroom strategies to assist limited-English-speaking students, the importance of one's culture in developing language skills, American Indian students' learning styles and behaviors and the need for teacher…

The use of writing exercises to promote critical thinking in large pharmacy classes is discussed. Techniques for targeting specific higher order thinking skills, different types of in-class writing activities, and evaluation methods (self-evaluation, peer evaluation, feedback) are outlined. (MSE)

Use of active learning techniques in upper-division probability courses at the University of Minnesota is discussed. Techniques include cooperative, small-group learning, and essay-writing about technical topics. Emphasis is on student participation, interaction, and broadening of student perspective. Student response to the approach is also…

Discusses Vee mapping, a technique to assist students in categorizing the relationship between the conceptual and procedural aspects of science. Presents a study to investigate elementary education majors' (n=27) use of the Vee heuristic and concept mapping for the construction of knowledge; attitudes toward learning science in collaborative…

This article examines the role of social context in teaching and learning at the college level and reviews principles of six research and conceptual approaches which address social context: the transactional perspective; student-centered instruction; cooperative learning; communication theory; group-process theory; and curricular/structural…

Contends that effective use of time is critical in today's elementary classroom. Describes a curriculum development process in which 75 preservice elementary teachers created an integrated geography, language arts, and arts curriculum. Maintains that the approach could be used at all levels to teach about geographic features. (CFR)

Discusses a partnership between Northern Arizona University and a local school district that enables preservice teachers to practice innovative strategies for facilitating inclusion of students with disabilities into general classrooms. Strategies such as cooperative learning, collaborative teaming, peer tutoring, student empowerment, and creative…

Describes a group of participants in a highly productive, nonformal learning environment that exemplifies the practices of a collaborative community. Diverse elementary students and university undergraduates participate in entertaining educational activities within an after-school computer club. The club focuses on hybrid literacy practices and…