Bilingual education projects utilizing various literary genres--fables, folk, and animal tales--as the stimuli for written and oral English activities have aided Mexican-American children in overcoming English language handicaps. During the three summers such an English program was undertaken with children from a Mexican-American disadvantaged…

Teachers should resist external pressures, such as the British fifth-form examination, which dictate the content and teaching methods of their classes. Instead, teachers should endeavor to keep literature, language, and composition integrated; to emphasize class and group discussions; to find topics that interest pupils, not examiners; to…

This book, recommended for grade three, is a teaching aid to help children learn skills essential for successful living, develop social competence, and acquire respect for individual differences. Because children learn by doing things with others, small groups of four are suggested for classroom activities. There are seven group activity sheets,…

A three-day model inservice program for special education teachers in Coventry (England) focused on facilitating personal and social development in disabled students through group experiences based on materials and principles of the Active Tutorial Work project, a structured, developmentally based approach emphasizing active learning. (JW)

This study investigates computer-mediated communication (CMC) to facilitate the construction of a learning community of preservice teachers. The formation of a learning community involves students working together to solve ill-structured problems and applying knowledge and experience to heuristic teaching. "Peer learning" broadly…

This booklet is designed to be used with a video of the classroom of second-grade teacher Victoria Bill. The 40-minute video shows the teacher using a variety of manipulations, facilitating both large- and small-group discussions, and applying a problem-solving approach to math. The text in the booklet is based on spoken comments made by observers…

This book contends that learning is enhanced through active involvement in personally meaningful experiences accompanied by processing for meaning and future use. While some processing takes place automatically, much can be done strategically to enhance and generalize learning. Intended as a resource for experiential educators and therapists, this…

This paper is a case study of a middle school in the Midwest that was involved with a national project over a 3-year period in trying to create a professional learning community. The case study includes background, areas of focused reflection, a school profile, case questions to stimulate dialogue and problem-solving, and author's reflections. The…

Rich educational environments encourage students to construct their own knowledge, to solve problems collaboratively, and to heighten their interest and motivation to continue to learn. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study that investigated the formation of collaborative problem solving through social interaction during a…

Describes a study in which kindergarten and first-grade students discussed the subject of shadows. Two students became teacher/leaders, and the rest asked questions for clarification or gave input. The classroom teacher modeled questioning and communication skills all year. The goal was to empower students to have a role in their own education.…

Describes the use of simple projects to help freshmen-level chemistry students develop chemical knowledge and an aptitude for the research process. These projects pose a new problem to students without presenting a detailed experimental procedure. Guiding questions help students design their own experiments and stimulate students to think…

Argues successful intergenerational curriculum should meet the following criteria: (1) developmentally appropriate; (2) socially appropriate for impaired adults; (3) functionally appropriate; and (4) coexploration and mutual benefit. Suggests activities including free conversation, singing, music, telling or reading stories, and cooking. Advocates…

Using the Big Six research process, students at Live Oak Elementary (Round Rock, TX) supplemented information from traditional print and electronic sources with e-mail exchanges around the world to complete a library research collaborative project culminating in an original folk tale. Describes the Big Six process and how it was applied. (PEN)

Identifies linguistic, curricular, and social benefits of cooperative learning arrangements in second language and bilingual instruction. Discusses five major models of cooperative learning, and reviews research findings in linguistically diverse settings. Contains 45 references. (Author/SV)

Describes the advantages of having students work actively together in small groups. Discusses the new roles that both students and teachers must assume in order to successfully implement the strategy in the classroom. (FMW)