This paper discusses cooperative learning as a teaching method that uses intrinsic rewards, or rewards that come from within a student, in the education of young children. The developmental perspective of cooperative learning, which suggests that peer interaction, without the use of extrinsic rewards, leads to intellectual and social growth, is…

A process is presented which uses two activities to obtain individual and group reaction to 20 recommendations selected from the recent studies of schooling. The recommendations cover a wide range of suggestions for improving the quality of education. In the first activity, participants assign a value on a five-point scale to each recommendation.…

Designed for students in grades K-3, the program focuses on nurturing individual student growth through sequential class activities that stimulate a positive social climate within the classroom. Based on group process and child development research, the teacher's handbook focuses on skills in the areas of friendship, communication, and…

This guide consists of a set of activities to help elementary school students cope with fears and stress. Each activity includes the curricular areas in which it would fit (i.e., language arts, social studies, etc.), the grade level and group size for which it is suitable, and the approximate time necessary for its completion. The guide is divided…

Teachers who do not use specifically communicatively-oriented textbooks can still derive much useful communicative language work from them. A key to success is engaging the student in the reading and comprehension of the text. Class exercises that can be used as pre-reading or pre-listening activities include: (1) giving students key words or…

A year-long, cooperatively structured, student team strategy is described that is being used as a major component in an interdisciplinary Master of Environmental Science degree program. The general philosophy of the degree program and the rationale for including the Student Team Project (STP) are described. The most basic goal of the program is…

This book for teachers, counselors, or group leaders, provides a set of activities through which young persons can experience issues relating to their own sense of identity. The activities are based on the life experiences of 100 adult women interviewed in 1977-78. The exercises can be used in a variety of high school, community college, or…

The guide presents an overview of a national contest designed to make history come alive to students in grades 6 through 12 through imaginative projects, original performances, media presentations, and papers. Students submit their entries into contests in which they are judged by historians, educators, and other experienced professionals.…

A study of the optimal combination of language students for participation in an oral group exercise used a story-creating activity in which each student was required to memorize a single sentence and, by discussing the sentences with each other, arrive at a sensible order for them. Three types of verbal interaction were recorded: repetition of the…

Teacher education programs inadequately prepare teachers to teach students to participate in the many forms of cooperation which are inherent in life. Although teachers have the responsibility of helping students learn how to live and be productive in social groups, students in colleges of education are not usually trained to oversee and grade…

A French language immersion weekend housed in an off-campus college lodge and accommodating 12 college students has been successfully implemented by the State University College of New York at Fredonia. The goals of the weekend experiences have been: the development of listening and speaking skills; creation of a cultural atmosphere of the…

In the context of Group Investigation in e-learning environment, learning to work together productively as well as to interact socially and effectively in a group is a difficult task. A variety of skills, for example, interpersonal, problem solving, and study skills would be needed. It is also not uncommon to assume that learners would have…

A prominent theme permeating national science education reform reports such as the "National Science Education Standards" (National Research Council [NRC], 1996) and "Project 2061: Science for All Americans" (Rutherford & Alhgren, 1990) recommends the incorporation of cooperative learning in the science classroom. Although…

This guide describes a game-plan for a communication lab the goal of which is for group members to have an opportunity to learn and practice communication skills in a protected environment. The groups are not therapy groups although it is anticipated that the experience will be therapeutic. The guide presents: (1) a rationale for the game plan…

A procedure for undertaking a foreign language weekend camp is presented. Responsibilities before and after the camp are identified for the foreign language council, the administrators in charge of the camp program for each language, the camp director, participating teachers, and assistants. It is suggested that a minimum of three planning…