The purpose of this research study was to examine the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) on eleventh grade students' understanding of "The effects of temperature, concentration and pressure on cell potential" and also their social skills. Stratified randomly selected control and experimental groups with 20 students each were used in…

Five eighth grade science classes of students in at a middle school were assigned to three treatment groups: those who individually concept mapped, those who collaboratively concept mapped, and those who independently used their study time. The findings revealed that individually generating concept maps on computers during study time positively…

Like their counterparts in other disciplines, accounting educators are gradually moving away from talk-and-chalk lectures to project-based learning, real-world problem solving, and team collaboration. Slower to change are the ways in which the impact of these innovative teaching methods have been assessed, with student reactions and traditional…

Case studies of the use of Nominal Group Technique are analyzed, and an exercise with public administration students is reported suggesting that perceived levels of participation are higher in interacting than in nominal groups. Assumptions about the politics behind such methods are explored. (Author/CH)

Argues that the strategies and goals of cooperative learning promote good citizenship and the reduction of prejudice. Reviews supporting theories and research and reports on a fifth grade's ten-week cooperative learning experience. (JDH)

Describes the results of one part of a two-year-long classroom study of sixth graders' engagement with and responses to nonfiction trade books. Considers what motivated these sixth graders to read the nonfiction titles they chose for small-group and voluntary reading. Concludes that when students are given the opportunity to select nonfiction…

There is an expectation that new science teachers will be able to effectively use a range of information communication technology (ICT) related resources in the science classroom in order to enhance student learning. All school systems in Australia are in the process of providing teachers with ICT professional development and infrastructure. This…

Describes a study of the Individualized Learning Activity Program (ILAP) which permits a variety of activities, develops individualism in some tasks and cooperativeness in others, and allows the student to share in the responsibility of assignment selection and progress monitoring. Students and teachers indicate a consistent positive regard for…

Outlines a process drama in which fourth graders play scientists grappling with moral decisions. Describes the students' enthusiasm at acting and following through on their parts. Explains that after the drama, the teacher and students reflect on how it followed or failed to follow dramatic story elements. (PM)

Describes a project that linked students in a quantitative decision-making course at the University of Hawaii with students in the same course at Southern Methodist University (Texas) to participate in remote group collaboration via electronic mail and to observe and evaluate students' decision-making capabilities. Student comments are included.…

Presents an approach that provides a means for business communication faculty to design team projects that introduce students to the benefits of collaborative efforts and to emphasize the correlation between positive working relationships and quality outcomes. Finds that by the end of the project students' attitudes changed. Outlines objectives,…

For the thirty-fifth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the national AECT Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

A survey of the participants explored the competing interests involved at a national debate tournament, including: (1) how the desire to maximize competitive prowess trades off against socialization among students; (2) how increasing the number of elimination rounds for reasons of judge equalization adds another round to an already crowded…

This 35-minute, black and white, 16mm, sound film was made at the Fayerweather Street School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and narrated by John Holt. It is designed to show what happens in a school in which children are free to move about, to talk, and to plan and direct their own work. The film shows children of different ages engaged in…

This dissertation investigates the effects of two different grouping strategies on secondary students concerning their preparation for, and performance at, a computer programming contest. Students were divided into two groups, experimental and control, for a 3-week treatment, followed by the contest. Students in the experimental group became…