Management students used either the Harvard Case Method (n=33) or McAleer Interactive Case Analysis (n=31) to analyze case studies. The McAleer group was better prepared and participated more in discussions; they performed consistently better than the Harvard group on case analyses and recall of content. (Contains 21 references.) (SK)

Presents a study of boys' and girls' conversations about traditional folktales. Focuses on storytelling as a teaching method and explores how students learn from folktales, myths, and legends. Investigates how characters and gender roles in folktales and other traditional stories act as educational and developmental models, especially among…

Describes a system that monitors Internet discussion groups and Web sites for evidence that public interest in herbal remedies is outpacing available scientific evidence regarding herbal remedies. Using content analysis and bibliometric techniques this system can identify emerging unorthodox practices and can map the diffusion of health-related…

Presents a classroom experiment in which students were asked to solve an open problem aimed at constructing a shared classroom culture. The discussion makes explicit aspects of student thinking that would be hidden in a normal activity. Demonstrates that a deeper analysis of student reasoning and behavior can be better performed if lessons are…

Outlines how one veteran high school teacher wrote up an everyday moral dilemma (obliquely involving drug trafficking) for his students to discuss and solve. Notes problem-solving steps and questions, and how the students worked their way to a solution through discussion. (SR)

Describes some of what educators have learned about the complex task they ask students to tackle when they put them in peer groups to talk with each other about their writing. Analyses the work of one peer revision group and illustrates the complicated work that students can engage in as they struggle to justify their writerly decisions to their…

Describes efforts to teach beginning teachers to lead discussions by involving them in, and helping them learn about, discussions. Efforts to teach with discussion were inconsequential when it came to teaching for discussion, where the subject matter was discussion itself (its worth, purposes, types, and procedures) and where case discussion was…

Incorporated group and class discussions in two psychology courses to promote critical thinking and interaction among students. Discussion, writing of position papers, and readings from "Opposing Viewpoints" texts were used. Quantitative and qualitative data from student evaluations suggested that the discussions improved interaction, engaged them…

Edible Connections brings together the media, the public, and food system stakeholders to increase awareness and understanding of the local food system, strengthen connections among stakeholders, and address food system problems identified by a given community. Extension educators have successfully used it to educate about food access, hunger,…

Provides insights into the design of effective educational planning conversations derived from the metaphor of enthalpy (the amount of heat energy released when chemical reactions occur). Interprets enthalpy changes in the context of energy and the dynamics necessary to sustain an effective systems design conversation. (AEF)

States that the contrast of face-to-face communication with computer-mediated communication (CMC), either experimentally or experientially, may be a valuable way for teaching group dynamics and group decision making in educational settings. Suggests several ways to facilitate the use of CMC in single-session experimental and experiential…

Suggests that a practical model for dialogue and decisionmaking in ethics needs to be developed, which is intended for widespread use within organizations and communities. Outlines objectives of an effective model, and basic questions that it must respond to. Discusses piloting the model, as well as facilitation of dialogue, development of…

Investigates the nature and value of asynchronous online discussion within small groups of learners. Draws on research into the experiences of adult learners within short courses; and discusses how forums afford communication, including the exchange of personal information and of sustained reflection on course readings and other learners'…

Examines the effects of process structuration by means of a training video on maintenance behavior and outcomes in 55 student virtual decision-making groups. Finds that trained groups had higher levels of social support, greater participation rates, and greater satisfaction with the group; wasted less time and energy; and made significantly more…

Investigates questions of conventional stereotypes and power structures by describing how a book such as "Dulcie Dando, Soccer Star" sustains deep-level stereotypes of gender, despite its surface features. Explores how these stereotypes are reinforced when conventional ways of being female and male emerge as powerful elements in this…