This chapter is a reflective account of the author's experience as a teacher of English at the University of Pavia during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. It considers the design and delivery of an English for architecture and construction engineering course as well as the assessment stage of a text analysis course. It proceeds by…

Hyperspecialization in the disciplines and the rewards for that combined with the growing mantra for first job preparation are double threats to liberal teaching and learning. Given that circumstance, the sorts of synthetic lecture classes in the humanities and social sciences that once provided the foundations of liberal learning have evaporated.…

The seminal tenets of progressive education bear a striking resemblance to the newly fashionable principles associated with with a new movement known as "21st Century Education". This article traces the development of progressive education principles, starting with the founding of the Progressive Education Association, and shows their…

Given that information age technologies are as natural to the Net generation as breathing, it is time to provide learning experiences that maximize their use in schools. The authors argue that integrating technology into learning is central to creating the meaningful learning opportunities needed to engage and motivate youth today. To achieve this…

Reviews advantages and disadvantages of group projects. Reviews basic tenets of teamwork design, including the "forming, storming, norming, and performing" stages of team development. Notes that carefully defined teams and projects may offer a solution. Includes a 28-item bibliography of helpful resources for teamwork. (SR)

A teacher introduced folklore to multiage groups of students aged 5-12 by encouraging them to work together on projects that included locating family origins on a map, collecting family recipes for a cookbook, compiling a photo album, and writing a play based on war stories gathered from relatives. (LP)

Describes how one English teacher developed a multimedia poetry unit that opened her students' understanding of English poetry. Outlines the project's goals and methods of instruction. Provides students' written responses to the project and the teacher's reflection about its pros and cons. (HB)

Discusses changes in ideas about learning underlying reforms in science education. Highlights experiences with project-based science, which focuses on student-designed inquiry organized by investigations to answer driving questions, including collaboration among learners, new technology, and the creation of authentic artifacts that represent…

Includes "Learning by the Numbers" (Oliver); "Industrial Control through Electronics" (Cowen, Haynie); "Data Control with a PC" (Zoghi, Lorenzo); "Portfolio Assessment" (Wolansky); and "Quality in the Classroom: Evaluating Individuals in Group Projects" (McCrea). (SK)

From primary grades, students are exposed to both standardized and classroom tests. While teacher-made classroom tests may contain multiple choice, constructed response, or essay items, standardized tests, on the other hand, primarily rely on the multiple-choice format. Standardized tests are easy and inexpensive to administer and score, amenable…

Fifty small businesses and organizations within an 800-mile radius of southern Illinois were surveyed to determine what businesses consider the most important characteristics of a team player; 94 percent responded. These characteristics were incorporated into a course during which teams of students were to complete a project that involved each…

Discusses the rationale for cooperative learning and examines the teacher's role in creating groups. Provides examples of cooperative learning experiences in an integrated unit and as applied to computer education. Lists the advantages of using cooperative learning, while noting its pitfalls. Cautions that cooperative learning should be used in…

Describes a five-week English course in which pairs of students work collaboratively on team-building activities, library research, research-paper topic selection, outlining, paraphrasing and summarizing, and writing and editing a joint research paper. Presents the peer-evaluation techniques, which differentiate students' share of the work so that…

Describes a special project, in which at-risk ninth graders created a package of materials that a Peace Corps volunteer could take with him to Kyrghyzstan, where he was to teach English. Explains how the package contained an array of student-generated materials, including videos, newspapers, alphabet books, and cassette readings. (TB)

While it is generally accepted that people working in groups can accomplish more than people working individually, it is equally accepted that parasites will attempt to feed on the other group members. Group work has been called by several names--group learning, cooperative learning, collaborative learning--all of which carry slightly different…