As K-12 schools connect to the Internet, a new means of communication opens up to educators and students. This updated digest describes some sample services and resources available to the K-12 community via electronic mail. Information sources covered include: question answering services, including AskERIC and the Online Writing Lab; listservs or…

This pamphlet describes a year-long project that began with the idea of inviting eighth graders to study the thoughts of second graders as shared during literature discussions. It then evolved into a more elaborate project bolstered by the students' enthusiasm and interest in each other. The pamphlet describes the students, establishment of the…

M. S. Peck (1987) identifies six characteristics of a "true community": (1) inclusiveness (no "in group" or "out group"); (2) commitment; (3) consensus (differences are acknowledged and processed); (4) contemplation; (5) vulnerability; and (6) "graceful" fighting (conflict should not be avoided, minimized,…

Alex F. Osborn's group brainstorming treatment remains the most frequently applied procedure for the creative generation of ideas despite considerable evidence that demonstrates its ineffectiveness. This paper synthesizes many findings that challenge the premise that Osborn's traditional "group" brainstorming treatment is the optimal…

This study investigated fourth graders' (N=18) self-generated analogies and the effects of their collaborative reasoning and arguing over these analogies on individual understanding of three scientific phenomena concerning air pressure. The data were subjected to both a qualitative and quantitative analysis. The first showed that the children, on…

Many teachers are hesitant to incorporate peer-led discussion groups into their classrooms. Teachers worry that if they relinquish control in their classrooms students may miss the main theme of stories or may spend little time on task, groups may dissolve from excessive bickering, and their classrooms will be out of control. Nevertheless, the…

This paper describes a computer conferencing experiment carried out at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland. The conference provided the students an interactive learning environment appropriate for practicing argumentation and developing their argumentation skills. Participants were 31 undergraduate students. Two tutors, who were top students in…

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how explanation is interactively constituted in two mathematics instructional sequences during one year-long teaching experiment in a second grade classroom. The position taken is that classroom norms for what constitutes an acceptable explanation are a joint construction between teacher and students.…

Noting that hearing and reading the words of real people can personalize for students the study of social studies, language arts, and science, this book presents 230 quotations and prompts to enrich curricula and themes in grades 4 through 8. After an introduction and advice on using quotations in the classroom, quotations and prompts in the book…

In 1996, the Metropolitan Community Colleges (Missouri) 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. The colleges' team formulated a humanities course exploring the…

This paper examines the reactions of 10 elementary teachers to a teaching case used as part of a professional development project's curriculum. Their written reactions to both reading the case and participating in a 2-hour discussion of it suggest that cases may stimulate teachers to think about their own understanding of mathematics, the…

Four teachers, two from a rural high school and two from an urban one, spent a year trying to get students to examine similarities and differences between the two schools. The exchange program involved students from Malcolm X Shabazz High School of Newark, New Jersey and a group from rural New Jersey's Hunterdon Central High. Small groups of…

This booklet is part of a series designed to help students take and defend a position on public issues. This unit examines the topic of immigration. Lessons encourage students to engage in discussions that touch on ethical, definitional, and factual questions alike. The first unit, "The Immigrant Experience," presents the stories of…

The public's reaction to the television film "The Day After" demonstrates that when television responsibly and sensitively presents a controversial yet thought-provoking issue, an educational and enlightening experience can result. The film was developed and produced by ABC Motion Pictures to inspire debate and discussion about the…

Designed to show teachers how to create environments that will encourage literate talk, not discourage it, this book discusses ways to organize classrooms that will support the sharing of books in the same way that book-loving families share books. The book builds on the interwoven nature of language, suggesting that by talking about books,…