Educators who introduced cooperative learning (CL) in their school district present their feelings, ideas, and experiences. They note that CL takes commitment, work, time, and practice. The rewards are improvements in learning, social skills, and achievement. They recommend CL because it addresses current educational needs. (SM)

Through cooperative games and play, children learn to share, empathize with others' feelings, and get along better. The article makes suggestions to physical educators on how to design games to teach students cooperative behaviors and how to incorporate them into class, noting four important game-design principles. (SM)

Describes how providing leadership opportunities for children during the 30-minute circle time in a kindergarten class illustrates social curriculum. Includes discussion of developing social skills through daily routines and extending learning through social interactions. Offers suggestions for teachers, including modeling desired behavior,…

Argues that role-playing activities can be a powerful tool in mathematics and science education, particularly in the new sciences of complexity (i.e., the study of complex systems). Two role-playing activities are described, each designed to help students develop better intuitions on how complex phenomena can arise from simple interactions, and…

In this article, the authors offer strategies to help beginner physical education teachers increase the tempo of their classes. Most of these ideas are applicable to any physical education setting and grade level. After incorporating some of these strategies into daily lesson plans beginner teachers should see an increase in student energy levels…

This paper describes a final year biosciences module consisting of workshops to which web-based tools were introduced. The ability of the online tools to facilitate group work and assess the students was investigated. The online module was delivered via WebCT as the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment). The initial concept was to enhance rather than…

Our University of Alabama introductory astronomy course has large enrollments, with the usual problems of low attendance and students putting off studying until just before major exams--with predictable consequences. We tried one strategy--cooperatively answering quiz questions--during our May 2002 interim term. Classes were long: three hours a…

The beginning of the year is the right time to establish a climate of kindness, caring, and sharing for a teacher's group-time meetings. Group time is often a teacher's first "formal" introduction to the children, and a time when a teacher sets the stage for creating a sense of community. By demonstrating a teacher's loving acceptance for all…

This article considers the notion of difference as we experience it in our daily lives, and specifically, within the classroom between pupils and teachers. Drawing on research and work with schools in the south of England, the paper describes how the Working with Others Unit at the University of Brighton has developed a practical process approach…

This study explores how a project-based approach, based on gifted education pedagogy, was implemented in a public school program where the majority of students were from low-income families. The 2 first-grade teachers in this study were able to change their teaching practices to include more strategies commonly found in gifted programs such as…

Using socioconstructivism as a theoretical framework, this study investigated the ways in which classrooms that used peer learning groups influenced students' goals. Specifically, my goal was to examine collaborative learning as a process that may influence individuals' social and achievement goals. After confirming that 2 sixth-grade math…

This book provides educators with the background and procedures needed to conduct group investigation, a method for classroom instruction in which students work collaboratively in small groups to examine, experience, and understand their topic of study. Significantly different from traditional instruction, group investigation is designed to appeal…

The teaching activities presented in this article focus on a bookmaking party, which gives children a format in which they can publish and share their activities in a formal way, provides them with books for recording their writing, and involves students, parents, and the community with children's writing. The paper describes the steps for…

Describes the use of group dynamics in a junior high school science classroom as a means of dealing with problems associated with the heterogeneous nature of the student population. (JR)

On the basis of Soviet experience, types of work are sketched which are designed to develop the ability of the learner in dialogue and in group conversations. Russian and English examples illustrate the presentations. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)