Presents results obtained from using small groups and cooperative learning in the discussion sessions of large lecture classes in the mathematical sciences. Provides data indicating where this approach worked well and where additional changes were needed. (Author/ASK)

This article discusses using questioning techniques for encouraging purposeful inquiry among gifted students in elementary grades through college levels. A variety of questioning strategies is recommended, focusing primarily on the higher end of Bloom's taxonomy to engage students in higher level thinking. A classroom example is provided.…

A principal of an alternative secondary school and a district superintendent reflect on their 12-year relationship. Because Anderson kept Gosling informed, the superintendent could handle critics while demonstrating support for an unusual program. Mutual respect, agreement on issue definition, collaborative goals, productive conversation, and…

Describes how a discussion of "The Diary of Anne Frank" moved a class to intense discussion. Discusses how the books, and stories, and poems are invitations to a passionate engagement with human experience. Considers literature as the invitation to a dialogue, to intellectual inquiry, to tell one's own story, to participate in a society and the…

Explores how two classes of 10th-grade students experienced and learned from a required social-studies course that focused explicitly on teaching students to become more effective participants in discussions of controversial public issues. Finds, for example, that students' perceptions of their peers had a greater influence on their participation…

Discusses using science fiction stories in the English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) classroom. Presents experiences in a science fiction course with some successful methods in eliciting EFL students' discussion. Concludes that using both film and text versions of science fiction stories can be useful devices in helping EFL students participate…

Analysis of over 450 contributions to electronic discussions by 52 adult learners showed the learning processes used were engaging, developing conceptual relationships, drawing conclusions, and reflecting. Learning progressed to a high analytical level and was facilitated by group process development. Faculty supported discussion by synthesizing…

Explores the use of teacher-facilitated peer dialogues as a tool for supporting independent word learning strategies of struggling middle school learners. Hopes to create a context in which students would not only grapple with word meanings but also develop a stronger metacognitive awareness of their own efforts. (SG)

Uses data over a seven-month period from three teams' use of a collaborative electronic technology ("Team Room") to illustrate that genre systems--sequences of interrelated communicative actions--are a means of structuring (deliberately or habitually) six dimensions of communicative interaction: purpose (why), content (what),…

Discusses the process of selecting classroom cases in a 300-level business communication course. Outlines five specific criteria for a case to be workable. Describes that cases should be applicable to all students in the class, be sufficiently complex situations, accommodate multiple solutions, be manageable within portions of one or more class…

Discusses how defining key terms in context helps students understand and retain concepts. Considers how implementing small-group discussion dramatically changed the classroom dynamics and involved more students in the discovery process. Finds that in small peer groups, students are more inclined to ask questions and help each other clarify their…

Although constructivism sounds theoretically simple, many teachers encounter obstacles in creating constructivist classrooms. When teaching literature, effective constructivist teachers direct a certain focus, devise questions that ignite thinking, spotlight and paraphrase students' responses, and reflect thinking back to students. (MLH)

Describes a simulation called "The Pairing Game" where students investigate the matching phenomenon. Explains that this activity demonstrates how: (1) matching on overall social value can occur by seeking the highest possible value in a partner; and (2) individuals discover their own social value through this process of mate selection. (CMK)

Discusses how one teacher uses Norma Fox Mazer's "Out of Control" to explore leaders and followers as the main topic of discussion in a sophomore class. Describes how students keep a reader's journal with quotations from the text and personal responses. (SG)

Describes a participatory exercise that will enable students to understand the socially constructed nature of racial categories. Outlines some discussion techniques for use before the exercise that challenge students' basic understandings of race. (CMK)