This study examined the success and failure of mentoring programs based on interviews with representatives of 228 U.S. colleges. The types of mentoring programs identified are faculty to faculty, faculty to student, student to student, staff and administrators, alumni, and middle school. The study compiled the characteristics of program types…

The difficulties that students with learning disabilities experience in cooperative learning activities include failure to attend to their peers, low levels of participation, inappropriate interactions with peers, and inactive learning. Three techniques are suggested to improve performance during cooperative learning activities. The first…

This survey explores community service programs involving early adolescents. School-based programs are emphasized. The following programs were selected as models of appropriate service learning and are described in detail: (1) Friendly PEERsuasion, a peer tutoring program in Arlington (Texas); (2) The Peer Counseling Program in Oakland…

Examines a peer-led middle school literature discussion to demonstrate the social and performative nature of interpretation. Finds that two students' stances in relation to a text are shaped by social and cultural conditions within and beyond the classroom. (RS)

Describes the social and learning environment of middle level schools and criticizes attempts by school reformists to eliminate characteristics of schools that have been successful when used in junior high schools and middle schools. (SRT)

Twenty-two elementary and middle school teachers were studied over the course of a school year as they implemented cooperative learning structures in their classrooms. Twelve of the teachers did peer coaching and 10 did not. The teachers participated in 2 days of staff development to learn six specific cooperative structures and to learn and…

This practicum was designed to reduce incidents of harassment among middle school students and increase their sensitivity toward harassment, through both the conflict resolution process of peer mediation and group exercises. To attain this goal the following procedures were developed: (1) a student self-assessment instrument and its pre- and…

An observational instrument was developed to facilitate the peer coaching process by special education consulting teachers with regular class teacher colleagues. Use of the instrument was piloted by a special education consulting teacher with three middle school teachers whose classes included special education and at-risk students. The instrument…

Title VII Special Alternatives was an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VII-funded project in its fourth year of operation in 1994-94. The project served 151 middle school students of limited English proficiency in four schools in Brooklyn (New York). More than 10 native languages were represented. Participating students received…

This "Instructor" Supplement on middle school education, presents articles on new research and materials, adolescent development, reasons for teaching middle school, moving toward a middle school curriculum, peer teaching, multimedia software, murder mysteries, ancient China, geometry, teamwork, descriptive writing, literature, problem solving,…

A middle school teacher describes the process by which she discovered a collaborative approach to teaching writing to a class including English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. To create a meaningful writing experience, she had students prepare a personal narrative, starting by having the class generate endings to the sentence beginning "I'll…

Reviews peer-led substance-abuse prevention programs for middle school youth to determine whether they are efficacious in minimizing substance use. A meta-analysis of 120 studies examined program features and effectiveness. Results indicated that interactive peer interventions for middle school students were statistically superior to…

This document consists of a facilitator's guide and related materials for implementing a program that teaches social, communication, and study skills to middle school and junior high school students. The goal of the program, which incorporates peer tutoring, is the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse. This program was developed in Iowa to address…

Project Adelante, established in 1988 at Kean College of New Jersey, is sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Higher Education, and is currently the only "College Bound" program targeting the Hispanic-American population. Adelante ("onward" in Spanish) aims to improve the high school graduation rate of Hispanic students and…

Middle school students are failing to connect what is learned in computer classes to other subject areas of the school's curriculum. Teachers, who often lack basic computer knowledge, are not encouraging computer use, and a lack of computer accessibility and appropriate software compound the problem. A practicum was designed to: (1) move the…