In an effort to improve the motivation of students with negative attitudes toward reading and writing, five student-based library projects were designed in an intensive reading and writing course at New Jersey's Union County College. In the first project, student pairs were asked to find two articles from news magazines of the 1960's and 1970's…

This paper presents a curriculum model designed to incorporate the concept of collaboration through a student partnership program with retired persons. This descriptive study is based upon on-hand observations by the author during the course of the program. Thirty eighth-grade students were paired with retired persons who lived in a retirement…

Sixteen activities on issues and topics related to work, time, and leisure are presented. High-school students choose specific activities which they will work on during a period of several days. Most activities take the students out of the classroom and involve a study of family and community components of work and leisure. Some are individual…

Reports on the impact of an introductory biology course sequence that incorporated experience-based, group learning. Achievement results indicate that students were not disadvantaged by this new approach and, in fact, displayed a superior grasp of group-work, open lab utilization, and creative problem solutions. Attitudes regarding anxiety over…

Computerized storybook maker programs can motivate young children to learn to read and write as they play. This study compared perceptions and performances of young children and adult students on the StoryBook Weaver program. Participants were 26 first graders and 23 preservice teachers. Both groups of students were asked to compose stories on a…

This unit, one of six which comprise the Fair Play program, examines male and female characteristics and behaviors in relation to genetics and environment. The Fair Play program is a series of student and teacher materials the purpose of which is to help students expand their female or male self-concepts, increase their decision-making skills, and…

Reports on a study of the impact of individual feedback on achievement, attitudes, and behavior in cooperative learning groups on 56 8th-grade students. Finds that individual feedback was more effective than group feedback and that individual feedback resulted in more positive relationships toward others. (CFR)

Reports on a study of 12 U.S. and Russian elementary students working with a mathematics computer software program. Finds that students working together learned the program's concepts faster. Discusses implications of the findings and the significance of sociohistorical frameworks on cognitive processes. (CFR)

This study was designed to contribute to a small but growing body of knowledge on the influence of gender in technology-rich collaborative learning environments. The study examined middle school students attitudes towards using computers and working in groups during scientific inquiry. Students attitudes towards technology and group work were…

This unit, one of six which comprise the Fair Play program, teaches students to use data analysis skills to examine sex differences in career choices, mathematics attitudes, and treatment in the labor force. The Fair Play program is a series of student and teacher materials the purpose of which is to help students expand their female or male…

This study investigates the effect of cooperative learning on students' self-perceptions. Areas explored include students' perceptions concerning their: (1) achievement, regardless of present achievement level; (2) personal worth; (3) friendship formation with different ethnic groups and sexes; and (4) enjoyment of school. Interviews were…

A model is proposed and tested which suggests that students who come to school with more positive attitudes toward the political system generalize these attitudes to the school as a substitute political system. In turn, they seek out involvement in extracurricular and governance activities in the high school. To test this model, two attitude…

This paper presents a new approach designed to help students understand the concepts around which introductory social and political science courses are typically built. The social science course, "Problem Solving in Society," includes an exercise requiring the class as a whole to select, and develop proposals to alleviate, a social problem.…

This report describes a program which utilized cooperative learning activities to help eighth grade students in physical education classes at one urban Illinois school develop their interpersonal skills and reduce the frequency of inappropriate behavioral choices. The problem of inappropriate behavioral choices in the physical education classroom…

An early childhood classroom teacher integrated academic goals with the acquisition of social skills by using a specific teaching strategy of co-operative learning. The teacher of 5- to 7-year-olds experienced a classroom environment which lacked respect, fairness, and tolerance in the following dynamics: (1) boys toward girls; (2) older children…