Discusses the many different versions of "Little Red Riding Hood" and the extended classroom discussions they provoked, especially about what foodstuffs were in her basket. States that teachers should encourage their students to read in different ways at different times in their lives. Includes questions for stimulating student response.…

Presents an instructional approach (a flexible framework) for helping students and teachers read, talk about, and appreciate full-length trade books. Describes how transactional literature discussions provide opportunities for integrated reading, writing, and talk sessions that encourage students to respond openly to literature and become actively…

Describes how large-group brainstorming via e-mail at the University of Northern Iowa was used for strategic planning. Discusses factors affecting electronic brainstorming success and the advantages and disadvantages of electronic brainstorming. (AEF)

Focuses on a program providing foreign language instruction to students whose background derives from the country of that language's origin. The article notes that students in this program work on their own, coming together for small group conversation sessions. The article points out that these students often regard the study of their language as…

Describes using the jigsaw reading strategy (in an 11th-grade English classroom) with a literary classic: Henry David Thoreau's "Walden." (SR)

Examines first-year college students' conceptions of a good discussion and whether activities designed to encourage the conversation-like discussions found in adult book clubs affected these conceptions. The article presents stories of four students illustrating changes in their conceptions and analyzing them along three dimensions. (21…

Describes a simple and graphic demonstration of molecular motion that utilizes a hot plate, a beaker, tap water, India ink, and a Pasteur pipette with a rubber bulb. Provides tips on guiding students to an understanding of molecular motion using this demonstration. (DDR)

Traces the development of ideas explored during reading lessons in children's writings from one transitional bilingual fourth-grade classroom. Uses transcripts from audiotaped and videotaped lessons to study the way reading lessons turned into an anchoring activity for the negotiation of joint meaning. Traces developments in five student…

Finds that second-grade students of all reading abilities eagerly participated in posing and discussing questions in response to literature, asking more "why" questions than any other type. Offers recommendations for teachers interested in creating opportunities for students to discuss their own literature questions. (SR)

Discusses the reasons why teaching about the process of dying is relevant content for psychology courses. Offers suggestions for teaching about end-of-life issues in various courses on: (1) ethical, legal, and professional issues courses; (2) adult and life span development; (3) counseling diverse populations; and (4) assessment and diagnosis.…

Presents a technique used to understand the anchoring-adjustment heuristic and to integrate the concept with social psychological principles. Explains that students estimated the number of yearly stroke-related deaths that occur in the United States. Reports that the interaction between anchor and familiarity with the heuristic predicted stroke…

Argues that microeconomics principles courses are structured around an approach to policy that avoids many controversial but central policy issues including: the interplay of moral issues and efficiency; questions of consumer sovereignty; and questions of the interrelation between measures of efficiency and income distribution. Suggests a dual…

Rudeness and status can affect group-problem-solving processes. A new statistical method for analyzing group processes was used to analyze predictors of agreement and solution score. In successful groups, agreement was affected positively by academic status and negatively by justifications. In unsuccessful groups, however, agreement was affected…

Presents a study that examined the reactions of students to a classroom exercise in which students observed how gender stereotypes influenced memory processes. Explains how one student tells a story to second student; that student tells a third student; and the third student tells the entire class the story. (CMK)

Describes Body Parts Writing, an activity which focuses on the reader's own text-based and self-based interpretations of literature. Notes that the purpose of this activity is to invite and support readers' personal responses and give them a forum to discuss their individual interpretations. Concludes that it provides readers with another way to…