This study examined kindergarten teachers' perceptions of the impact of changes in group-size policy on 3- and 4-year-old children in New Zealand's Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association. Data were collected through a series of interviews of Wellington kindergarten teachers from 54 kindergartens and focused mainly on the perceived effects…

Intended to facilitate communication between parents and child care providers through creative problem solving, this guide explains young children's normal developmental behaviors that frequently cause concern, and identifies factors parents and caregivers can control in the environment that may have an immediate positive response from a child.…

This report describes a program for improving motivation of eighth grade students. Attendance, grades, discipline referrals, and student surveys were used in measuring changes in student attitudes. Problems were documented from data showing grades, attendance, and discipline referrals from the second semester of the 1994-95 school year. A student…

This two-volume set offers 16 narrative case studies and a facilitator's guide. Cases were written by teachers about their personal experiences with teaching and groupwork, especially the problematic situations and dilemmas they faced. Groupwork is a well-documented and highly recommended strategy for enhancing students' academic, cognitive,…

This handbook details how group leaders can adopt Project EASE (Exploring Aging through Shared Experiences), a program designed to provide opportunities for older adults and young people to interact in ongoing activities. Although the handbook is geared for children ages 9 through 13, it is adaptable for other ages and can be used in the…

This paper examines the behavioral issues associated with homelessness and marginal lifestyles. It describes classroom techniques that may be used to develop self-directed learning readiness as a tool for mitigating the psychological problems associated with the causes and outcomes of marginal living and homelessness. Discussed first are 26 issues…

This booklet introduces techniques and concepts that can be used for alternative styles of lesson delivery within the context of the autonomous learning approach and self-managing teams that are characteristic of resource-based learning. Much of the information is designed to help teachers enable learners to make good use of information resources.…

This book describes issues, trends, and practical teaching concerns that surround cooperative learning. It puts forward specific organizational plans and content area lessons for teachers who would like to become more familiar with active team learning in the classroom. Major themes include collaborative approaches to multicultural education,…

The use of small group work in the classroom can increase student motivation, interest, participation, learning, and retention. Small group work can also increase the quality and quantity of participation among students, elevate the level of thinking skills developed in the classroom, increase the level of self-esteem among participants, and teach…

A selected annotated bibliography on projects, training, and strategies for generating income, intended for persons actively engaged in non-formal education for development, reflects a growing number of projects on income generation by and for women's groups, and a reliance upon indigenous associations and group action. Documents dating from 1969…

Written for teachers who lead their 6th grade students on a 3-day field experience program at the Rogers Environmental Education Center in Sherburne, New York, this manual provides objectives, materials, and procedures for activities which help students learn about the natural environment--pond life, trees, ecology of the forest floor, stream…

Drawing upon Piagetian and Vygotskian developmental theories, philosophical examinations of the nature of argument and explanation, analyses of classroom and Socratic dialogues, and cooperative classroom structures, this paper examines how cooperative learning can influence individual knowledge acquisition. The paper first reviews some of the…

A language camp program that began with a small group of 10- to 12-year-olds whose faculty parents wanted them to retain the German learned on sabbaticals abroad has developed into a program of annual week-long day and resident camps for 150 children, aged 9 to 14 years, learning German, French, Spanish, and Norwegian. The camp was originally…

This guide to personal empowerment provides 47 exercises for dealing with feelings of despair, isolation, and powerlessness associated with the growing threat of nuclear war, progressive destruction of the environment, and unprecedented human misery. The first of eight chapters describes psychological responses. to planetary perils and discusses…

In one high school French department, videotaping began to be used as part of a final examination. It was found that the students wanted to see their tapes and began to critique their own and others' performances. The next year, taping was done earlier in the school year so that the tapes could be used as performance models. Students were more at…