Describes different methods for instilling musical leadership in students from the beginning of their music instruction, such as peer example or cooperative-learning strategies. Explains that student confidence is undermined by the belief that leadership is a personality characteristic, but students are reassured when they understand it as a set…

Investigates both students' and instructors' perspectives on issues dealing with complications of using collaborative groups. Ascertains whether the costs of collaborative writing projects outweigh the benefits. Explores ways in which teachers can maximize benefits and minimize costs. Concludes that collaborative projects are necessary and that…

Compared effects on achievement and verbal interaction of a cooperative learning instructional program promoting basic communication skills and academic helping skills (experimental condition) with those of a program promoting only basic communication skills. Results with 166 seventh graders show more elaborated help and higher achievement for…

Reviews the research literature about cooperative learning and technology, describes role-playing software programs designed for cooperative learning, and shows how Web pages built on a WebQuest model can be used to augment these programs. (AEF)

Examined effects of workgroup size and structure during collaborative work on complex tasks. Found that dyads produced greater collaboration for low-achievers, whereas small groups generated more cognitive conflict among other students. Productivity did not differ as a function of background structure. Findings posed implications for optimizing…

Describes how the core principles of learning science lead to associated best practices in instructional design and how to translate those into practical applications in Web-based online courses. Topics include knowledge construction; student motivation; higher order learning; learning styles; experiential learning; cooperative and collaborative…

High school technology education students were assigned to groups with either a cooperative-competitive (n=65) or cooperative-cooperative (n=64) goal structure. All cooperative-cooperative groups had to achieve a certain level for groups to get a top score. Students in the cooperative-cooperative environment had more positive attitudes and…

Presents three examples of the beginnings of togetherness among young peers, ages 1-3 years. Considers psychological processes underlying their activities and the characteristics of the settings in which these activities occur. Discusses these examples in the context of a definition of the social interactive dimension of learning, and the…

There have been increasing efforts among science educators to move students away from learning about science towards learning "to be" scientists. To move in this direction, there is a need to change the epistemology of the learning of science from instructivism to one of social constructivist learning. The purpose of this research is to…

Many learning and instructional approaches that manipulate the environment in which learners work and cooperate with each other have illustrated growth in cognitive, intellectual, social, and affective areas. To date, however, uncertainty still exists as to the mechanism by which various types of peer tutoring facilitate learning. This study seeks…

This study focuses on the use of the native language (L1) by second language (L2) learners when carrying out a collaborative jigsaw task in a computer chat environment. It investigates the extent and function of L1 use by means of a sociocultural theoretical framework. The research project was carried out in three languages: Chinese, German, and…

The purpose of this paper is to theorize the author's teaching in a course for experienced university teachers, in a context of increased attention to such courses. The focus in the course is transforming and enhancing ways of being university teachers, through integrating knowing, acting and being. In other words, epistemology is not seen as an…

In response to a challenge by a school administrator for "some sort of mural" in the high school where she teaches art, the author of this article created a course called Art for Public Places. She wanted to create a course that would promote a sense of community among students in the class and ownership in their school environment. Also, she…

In this case study, reading fluency was examined within the context of a paired reading instructional intervention. Additionally, this study explored reader self perceptions and the nature of the lived experience of reading for a less skilled reader. A single subject changing criterion design was employed. Baseline reading fluency data were…

High-quality multimedia products make use of technology to further the understanding of a topic in ways that traditional media cannot accomplish. This article describes the use of multimedia in collaborative student projects dealing with an area of study in the standard curriculum for their state or country. The projects facilitated the…