This paper illustrates an approach used to enhance student learning outcomes in a combined cross-listed Systems Analysis and Design (SA&D) course and examines benefits perceived by students through analysis of assessment and students feedback. The SA&D course is a required course in both the Management Information Systems (MIS) major and the…

Using collaborative learning activities means structuring student interaction in small, mixed-ability groups, encouraging interdependence, and providing for individual accountability. By taking part in cooperative experiences, students are encouraged to learn by assimilating their ideas and creating new knowledge through interaction with others.…

Group investigation is an organizational approach that allows a class to work actively and collaboratively in small groups and enables students to take an active role in determining their own learning goals and processes. As part of reform and restructuring efforts, Beaverton High School (Oregon) implemented the Group Investigation model with…

This third in a series of twenty-nine learning modules on instructional execution is designed to give secondary and postsecondary vocational teachers help in planning for and conducting three teaching techniques (brainstorming, buzz group, and question box techniques) which can create interest in learning and encourage student participation. The…

A continuation of a 3-year elementary school study investigated the effectiveness of the various schedules of a simulated environments technique on emotionally handicapped junior high school adolescents. The 58 subjects, whose original evaluation had shown no evidence of neurophysiological dysfunction or subnormal intelligence, were randomly…

The study evaluates the effectiveness of a set of social studies activities in promoting cooperative interaction among junior high school students. A field experiment was designed to test three hypotheses: (1) groups which have previously worked together structure tasks more cooperatively than a newly formed group: (2) groups which have…

Describes "Forever Friends," an intergenerational program linking second graders with elderly residents of an independent living facility. Describes monthly sessions involving group and partnership activities; how elders participate in classroom activities, musical programs, creative writing projects, and school field trips; and how…

Presents an analysis and evaluation of a fictitious case study of a student teacher using cooperative learning in a global studies class. Includes comments and suggestions made by 10 teachers who also reviewed the case study. Discusses eight "probe questions" that focus on content decisions, teacher control, and equity. (CFR)

Drama and role playing are effective ways for teachers, school counselors, and other individuals who work with young people to teach and discuss sensitive issues. The eight plays in this publication are designed to help middle school students develop critical-thinking, problem-solving, and logical decision-making skills. The eight scripts use a…

Teaching is a complex act requiring expertise relative to content, students, and the myriad of alternatives available to bring the two together in meaningful ways. This monograph is designed to assist teachers in examining and altering their own teaching practices and in transforming the classroom from a place of "dull sameness" to an…

This guidebook discusses cooperative learning at the middle school level and provides lesson plans that use cooperative learning techniques in various subject areas. Part 1 details three classroom organizational options and the elements of cooperative learning; examines the major types of cooperative learning; reviews the importance of developing…

This book grew out of the experiences of three teachers as they learned to document young children's work in their respective schools. Part I of this book enables readers to learn about documentation. Chapter 1 provides the rationale for the study of documentation, and chapter 2 explains the windows framework that guided the teachers in thinking…

Research on the effect of small-group instruction on students' second language classroom experience, as well as strategies for teachers, are examined. Eight foreign language teachers observed their student teachers an average of 11 times each on randomly-selected days over an 8-week observation period, generating a total of 5,288 "snapshots" of…

A major goal of ESL education is to teach students how to speak English well enough to converse spontaneously and naturally with native speakers. Discourse analysis provides an understanding of those skills second language learners need to acquire to converse with native speakers and an understanding of how these skills may most beneficially be…

This paper recounts observations of differences in the interactions of adult students when they are engaged in traditional worksheet tasks in contrast to small group activities and summarizes recent research on the benefits of group work in adult mathematics learning. It offers a selection of group and pair activities designed to foster…