Reports on a study that utilized surveys, interviews, and a modified focus group to examine the perceptions of graduate students regarding the effectiveness of computer-conferencing communication on higher-order learning. Recommendations for effective computer conferencing are included that address organization of content, small-group interaction,…

A first-year course in the computer-based educational media design curriculum at the University of Twente (Netherlands) uses the World Wide Web as an integrated course environment; collaborative group-based learning is the basis of the instruction. The Web is used to make evaluation-oriented activities part of the ongoing student experience.…

Uses excerpts from children's conversations to illustrate talk that occurs in three regular contexts in which struggling readers can work: weekly visits to a day care center where they read to younger children, daily partner reading, and daily inquiry project time. Suggests ways to promote talk in each context that will empower these learners. (SR)

Provides information on the health issues during the construction of the Panama Canal, focusing on issues such as the identification of mosquitoes as carriers of yellow fever and malaria and the role of Colonel William Crawford Gorgas in the battle against mosquito-born disease. Includes teaching activities. (CMK)

Presents ten guidelines, discussing each in detail, for teaching about the Holocaust in middle or high school. Includes topics such as encouraging active learning and a "minds-on" approach, inviting Holocaust survivors as guest speakers, and providing a base of historical knowledge. Contains references. (CMK)

Use of student focus groups to help shape college and university student recruitment efforts is examined, illustrated with the experiences of a variety of institutions. Benefits and limitations of the approach are noted, specific techniques for maximizing the groups' effectiveness are suggested, and uses of the resulting information are discussed.…

Examines the scope of pedagogic discourse, which involves the operation of a set of principles by which persons are apprenticed into ways of working valued in a culture. A pedagogic discourse is realized in two sets of language choices: (1) those connected with the goals of the teaching-learning activity, and (2) those concerning the content to be…

It is proposed that negotiation of form can be effective in language immersion instruction. Students are pushed to produce ever more accurate and appropriate utterances, drawing on their own sociolinguistic resources. Examples are provided from an eighth-grade classroom where the teacher uses feedback, questioning, discussion, and…

Describes an introductory segment of a preservice course on teaching and learning in mathematics and language arts, highlighting a project using multimedia materials to explore the integration of the two. Examples of teacher candidates' insights about mathematics discourse are discussed. The larger implications of classroom discourse for…

Examined whether spouses' attributions for partner behavior are related to their behavior by assessing their attributions and observing the problem-solving discussions of cohabitating couples (n=52) in which neither spouse was depressed or distressed, the wife was depressed and both spouses were distressed, and the wife was not depressed and both…

Discussion of use of the World Wide Web for literary studies focuses on a course on contemporary Canadian literature offered at the University of Northern British Columbia. Highlights include weekly lectures, discussion forum, assignments, evaluations, Web courses versus other distributed learning media such as videoconferencing, and future…

Discussion of synchronous computer mediated communications over the Internet focuses on the opportunities and pitfalls of using graphical chat programs in education. Topics include two-dimensional and three-dimensional chat programs; distance education; problem solving groups; exploring cultural differences; language skill development;…

Investigated the impact of electronic discussion group coding on student teachers' learning processes and experiences, examining whether coding provided a scaffold for critical thinking. A hierarchical series of discussion codes, applied to students' discussion contributions, acted as a procedural facilitator for critical thought processes.…

Describes a study that evaluated a network-based hypertext discussion tool (HDT) for teaching literature to adolescents by investigating whether the incorporation of the HDT into students' homework routine raised achievement over traditional discussion and text-based homework. Considers student feedback and attitudes toward learning with the HDT.…

Outlines one attempt to infuse technology into an educational psychology course, discussing commonly available tools and techniques (e.g., online syllabus, e-mail, World Wide Web, presentation packages, and use of learning teams and electronic discussion groups). The paper examines obstacles, student responses, application in the K-12 classroom,…