Over the past 20 years, teacher educators have increasingly turned to case-based instruction with Pre-service, novice, and even experienced teachers. However, advocates of case-based teaching rarely point out the many challenges that might detract from effective case-based instruction. I briefly outline some of the more obvious challenges facing…

Making connections is an emerging education theme of the 21st century. Science teachers are encouraged to connect new learning with prior knowledge, learning with student interests and experience, and classroom activities with the history and nature of science. Strategies that facilitate these connections enrich and enhance instruction. In this…

The case study examined two groups of grade 7 students as they engaged in four inquiry phases: posing a question and collecting, analyzing, and representing data. Previous studies reported analyses of statistical reasoning on a single inquiry phase. Our goal was to identify the modes of statistical reasoning displayed during group discussions in…

Many teachers fear that their chances to influence decisions about their profession are eroding. Principals must change this perception so that teachers feel empowered as school leaders. Drawing on the work of communications consultant William Isaacs, Glover discusses how principals can engage in communication that encourages teacher leadership by…

Conducted to evaluate the efficacy of teen counselors in school drug prevention programs, this study utilizes the following as evaluation criterion: (1) interviews with school faculty and teen counselors; (2) observations of teen counselor meetings and sessions with middle school students; and (3) documentation such as teen counselor training and…

As a society, the United States is becoming increasingly concerned with the far-reaching consequences of childhood aggression and youth violence. This book offers a way in which educators can talk to K-12 students about violence. The step-by-step approach enables students to talk about experiences with anger, violence, threats, loss of control,…

An instructor's teaching practices have been influenced by Edward T. Hall's theory in "Beyond Culture," which begins with the notion that "what is known least well and is therefore in the poorest position to be studied is what is closest to oneself," the "unconscious patterns that control us." This wisdom has been…

The nature of the multiuser object oriented (MOO) environment lends itself to flexible and rich interactive collaboration space providing interactive discussion, mail, mailing list, and news features to its virtual denizens. EdMOO (HREF1) was created in mid-1995 as an environment for teachers to experience the text based virtual reality…

In 1996, Illinois' Danville Area Community College (DACC) participated in the American Association of Community Colleges Exploring America's Communities project, which works to strengthen the instruction of American history, literature, and culture at U.S. community colleges. DACC's action plan involved students in collecting materials from…

In 1996, Leeward Community College (Hawaii) participated in the American Association of Community Colleges' Exploring America's Communities project, which works to strengthen the teaching and learning of American history, literature, and culture at U.S. community colleges. Working as a team, faculty members examined the multi-cultural groups in…

The purpose of this paper is to describe an evolving conceptual framework resulting from the use of a computer mediated discussion assignment in a graduate nursing course over the past several years. The objective has been to build a consensus among classmates via electronic communication concerning readings about making new knowledge more…

Asking questions is a salient event in group learning environments such as classrooms. Laboratory experimental results indicate that co-learner questions can affect judgments of comprehension. A study involving 94 male and 209 female students at a large midwestern university examined whether students would be aware of such alterations in…

This bibliography is useful to those interested in the intersection of collaborative learning concerns and enhanced citizen participation. In addition to an introduction, there are five parts: (1) general information on study circles and small group discussion (8 references); (2) the theory of collaborative learning in small groups and study…

This program guide on the right to die provides policy issue information where ethical concerns have a prominent place. Three positions about the right to die are presented: (1) mercy killing and assisted suicide should be legally permitted in certain cases; (2) legal status should be given to living wills and other advance directives that would…

A study explored what an outside-the-classroom, authentic literature discussion involved. Three book club discussions (involving a leaderless group consisting of members of varying professions meeting monthly to discuss fiction and nonfiction reading selections) were audiotaped, transcribed and coded. Results indicated that: (1) when allowed to…