Describes an activity (which has worked well with gifted students in grades 2-10, high school seniors, and in-service workshops) which uses only loops of string or yarn approximately six to nine meters in length. Groups (four to six participants) then make various geometric patterns using the yarn. (JN)

Custom mapping, an experiential learning strategy used in adventure education, provides a general metaphoric activity and then requires the group to customize it into their own "meta-map." This approach encourages collaboration, gives the group a high degree of autonomy in developing creative solutions, and has the potential to generate…

Students investigate the concept of motion by making simple paper airplanes and flying them in the classroom. Students are introduced to conversion factors to calculate various speeds. Additional activities include rounding decimal numbers, estimating, finding averages, making bar graphs, and solving problems. Offers ideas for extension such as…

Presents a study of the cooperative learning method "Jigsaw II." Reports superior academic achievement effects are inconsistent with poorer results reported in earlier studies. Discusses a modification incorporating a group goal achievable only by contribution of all group members. Concludes that cooperative learning must include a group…

The Internet-based CyberOlympics project involved 17 primary schools from five different countries competing against each other in an international sporting event (concurrent with the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games). Activities that benefited from Internet access, difficulties involved in running such projects, and suggestions as to how schools can…

Describes five participatory workshop activities to be used when offering a communication workshop to help ensure that participants understand, retain and apply the ideas and information presented. Activities include second/foreign language simulation, speech reading, language/learning disabilities simulation, and coarticulation simulation.…

This book, designed for grades four through eight, offers a variety of lessons designed to provide teachers with plans for using video technology in the classroom. Many curricular areas are addressed in order to provide a range of educational alternatives from which to choose. Most of the lessons require students to work in cooperative groups of…

A project is an extended, in-depth investigation of a topic, ideally one worthy of children's attention and energy. This catalog, prepared for an annual meeting of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, combines articles explaining the project approach in the classroom with summaries of projects displayed at the meeting. It…

This paper discusses cooperative learning as a teaching method that uses intrinsic rewards, or rewards that come from within a student, in the education of young children. The developmental perspective of cooperative learning, which suggests that peer interaction, without the use of extrinsic rewards, leads to intellectual and social growth, is…

Designed for students in grades K-3, the program focuses on nurturing individual student growth through sequential class activities that stimulate a positive social climate within the classroom. Based on group process and child development research, the teacher's handbook focuses on skills in the areas of friendship, communication, and…

The guide presents an overview of a national contest designed to make history come alive to students in grades 6 through 12 through imaginative projects, original performances, media presentations, and papers. Students submit their entries into contests in which they are judged by historians, educators, and other experienced professionals.…

A prominent theme permeating national science education reform reports such as the "National Science Education Standards" (National Research Council [NRC], 1996) and "Project 2061: Science for All Americans" (Rutherford & Alhgren, 1990) recommends the incorporation of cooperative learning in the science classroom. Although…

A procedure for undertaking a foreign language weekend camp is presented. Responsibilities before and after the camp are identified for the foreign language council, the administrators in charge of the camp program for each language, the camp director, participating teachers, and assistants. It is suggested that a minimum of three planning…

The aim of this program activity guide is to aid teachers and child caregivers in helping children in Air Force preschools and day care centers better understand and cope with the sometimes difficult experience of moving to another duty station. Basic information for teachers and caregivers, facts about moving in the military, instructional…

Goals and activities of a four-week photography course which centered around a photographic trip to Boston are described in this curriculum guide. The unit, one of several developed in conjunction with Project Exploration, has the broad goals of promoting--through experiential learning in a variety of environments outside the classroom--the…