Stresses the importance of teaching students to revise and suggests a way to teach revising as part of class discussion. (TJ)

If integrated into a study of the elections, television can be an exciting teaching resource. Students can gain a better understanding of candidates and political issues and, perhaps more important, experience a sense of participation in the country's development. (Author/RK)

"The Parent Crunch" is a school television episode disigned to be used with teacher groups to stimulate discussion and exploration of teacher-parent problems. (MB)

Integrating the arts into language arts classes for the gifted is advocated to enhance self awareness and self expression. (CL)

Seeks conditions that improve group performance on "hidden profiles." Finds that, among undergraduate student groups, group information sharing and decision-making effectiveness were higher in small groups with a low percentage of shared information, and lower when groups either were large or shared a high percentage of information.…

Focuses on patterns of communication by members and leaders during episodes of conflict and how these patterns related to group development. Analyzed communication of two small groups that met for 12 weeks. Results indicate that integration and differentiation from systems theory are key elements of the group development process. (RJM)

Shares writing habits of a lifelong daily writer with her middle school students, asking them for a discussion of her work. Gives students a sheet with open-ended opinion prompts to fill out as "reader response." (PA)

Adult participation in book discussion groups satisfies lifelong learning needs. The informal learning that takes place helps adults acquire self-knowledge and construct new meanings by connecting texts and life. (SK)

Explains how book groups worked in a tenth-grade English classroom. Makes a case for "Making Lemonade" (a young adult novel about teenage pregnancy and poverty) as a compelling and provocative text for young adults. Notes that the school nurse visited the class to discuss the book. Addresses the nurse's unique contribution to the students'…

Analyzed patterns of participation and discourse mediated by Virtual Web School (VWS), an Internet-based asynchronous bulletin board system used by 23 fifth graders in Finland. Findings show high density of articipation, but the need for improvement in the quality of student discussion on VWS. (SLD)

Used asynchronous electronic discussion groups across sections of a required introductory U.S. Government course. Findings for three course sections show the ways in which initial parameters affect student participation and perceived value. (SLD)

Presents one college professor's account of how service learning might help facilitate meaningful discussions on race in an undergraduate course on Social Foundations of Education, describing the dynamics that tend to unfold whenever "race" comes up in class discussions, analyzing the benefits and potential pitfalls of service learning, and…

Finds that, when adults talked about why they value their book club discussions, three themes emerged: the social aspect; the equality among club members; and the spirit of cooperation that infused the clubs. Notes that these themes suggest instructional strategies which may help teachers challenge the discourse patterns that characterize…

Because race, class, and gender bias have become firmly institutionalized, achieving equity will require more than eliminating individual prejudices. Educators can use dyads, support groups, and personal experience panels to ensure that people stay focused on their personal stories; respect one another; avoid blaming, criticizing, and analyzing;…

Four studies of undergraduates were conducted to assess the relative importance of quality and quantity as goals of brainstorming. Participants (n=65) believed it was more important to produce creative and high-quality ideas than to generate many ideas and believed brainstorming would enhance the quality of others' ideas (n=109). (Author/CR)