Describes an experimental mathematics course involving an interpretive discussion approach in which students and instructors work together to develop questions about the meaning of mathematical, philosophical, and musical texts. Appendix contains a cluster of questions for Euclid's proof of the infinity of prime numbers. (MKR)

Analysis of three Web discussion forums concerned with social change (Znet, Youth Forum Online, Commie Love) identified factors conducive to online learning communities. Interaction was higher when discussion involved peers and the host acted as an equal. Online discussion might benefit groups that face obstacles to communication. (SK)

Describes an experimental Web site that was developed to facilitate the discussion of large texts. Explains the template which enables discussion participants to enter comments at the paragraph level and to view all relevant information while commenting, and considers potential applications for higher education. (LRW)

Sets forth the nine major steps of problem solving in a proactive, future-focused, and vision-oriented way: defining the problem, identifying the contributing factors, stating why this is a problem, stating the preferred scenario, brainstorming possible alternatives, evaluating pros and cons of the alternatives, choosing an alternative, developing…

Some teachers are uncomfortable with teaching ethics, a subject that science teachers often have very little experience with. Ethics as a discipline is full of unfamiliar terms and its own jargon. Other teachers fear classroom discussions getting out of control, degenerating into a battle of opinions, or having parents and administrators confuse…

An initial discussion of the use of recursive and explicit reasoning in developing mathematical power and the types of tasks that encourage students to reflect on the advantages and limitations are described. Some important considerations for classroom discussion when using these various tasks are discussed.

This document discusses different options when running an online discussion group. Groups can either be moderated or unmoderated. Yahoo discussion groups are also described.

Pearl Amelia McHaney provides focus essays for students to develop their thoughts and contribute to meaningful class discussions. Teofilo Ruiz provides three principles to educate his students as per them.

This study examined the quality of classroom talk and its relation to academic rigor in reading-comprehension lessons. Additionally, the study aimed to characterize effective questions to support rigorous reading comprehension lessons. The data for this study included 21 reading-comprehension lessons in several elementary and middle schools from…

This article gives a brief description of the piece of art titled "Bowl with Frieze of Lions Attacking Bulls" which is thought to be the product of a court or palace of the Neo-Assyrian period and dates to the late seventh to eighth century BC, between the reigns of Sargon and Ashurbanipal. The article highlights the piece's most notable…

This article describes the Grecian "Lion Funerary Monument" dating back to about 350 BC. Significant historical, cultural, and artistic elements of the ancient monument are highlighted. Details about the artist based on the monument itself are also described and questions to consider are provided.

In this article, the author focuses on the essential practices in guiding student dialogue about works of art. He offers ways to improve the quantity and quality of students' discussions about art, both the art that they make and that of professional artists. The article is informed by research into what philosophers of art and literature have…

Group discussions tend to focus on information that was previously known by all members (shared information) rather than information known by only 1 member (unshared information). If the shared information implies a suboptimal alternative, this sampling bias is associated with inaccurate group decisions. The present study examines the impact of 2…

Teaching has often been thought of as a creative performance. Although comparisons with performance were originally intended to emphasize teacher creativity, they have become associated instead with contemporary reform efforts toward scripted instruction that deny the creativity of teachers. Scripted instruction is opposed to constructivist,…

This paper explores a middle school teacher's and his students' perceptions of the differences between online synchronous literature discussions and face-to-face literature discussions. Each member of this literature group participated in two face-to-face and two online literature discussions. Participants were interviewed twice to discuss their…