A group project to build a model of the South Carolina state capitol building led to improved basic skills, high levels of student participation, an understanding of the importance of planning, and increased self-esteem among five 10th-grade students with mild mental retardation in a resource room program. (DB)

Studies of Mexican American students and classroom interaction are reviewed and critiqued from a perspective based on the work of Lev Vygotsky. Research suggests that Mexican American student involvement can be promoted through collaborative learning techniques, acceptance of student language use, and the use of material related to student…

Studies have shown that working benefits the student, the employer, and the institution. Work or volunteer experience, internships, and cooperative education before graduation have become the new springboards into professional level work after graduation. Discusses benefits of work experiences while attending college or university. (JBJ)

This paper describes the ongoing action research program at a residential school for students with emotional and behavior disorders in England. Structured "cooperative play" is used to improve language and behavior skills of students, train adults, and provide a research setting in which changes can be observed, recorded, and…

Describes a collaborative project between a college elementary education course and a fifth-grade class that used electronic mail to learn about teaching reading and language arts. Highlights include the idea of the fifth graders as the experts; reducing computer anxiety; evaluation results from both student groups; and future revisions. (LRW)

Discusses the rationale for applying management information systems (MIS's) to contract education programs, depicts an ideal MIS, and describes the MIS currently utilized in California. Suggests that computer-based MISs, such as California's Contract Education Data Inventory System, serve as invaluable aids in organizing and interpreting program…

Discusses trends in workplace literacy and describes environmental literacy, indicating that it includes such areas as reading, writing, mathematics, learning ability, problem solving, self-esteem, teamwork, and organizational effectiveness. Provides a methodology for conducting environmental literacy audits, selecting proper delivery methods,…

Discusses the use of computers in elementary and secondary school mathematics instruction. Topics addressed include the use of computers in compiling student portfolios; a model shift regarding assessment, mathematics instruction, and computers; computer software programs; and new approaches to teaching, including cooperative learning, multigrade…

Describes a project in which students, in groups, wrote a chapter on factoring polynomials. Gives general format of the activity and excerpts from student writings. (10 references) (MKR)

This article describes the involvement of the Council for Exceptional Children's Division for Children with Communication Disorders in a multiorganizational project to develop a list of statements of needed knowledge and skills for all beginning teachers of students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. The list of statements is appended. (DB)

Leadership training and professional development programs offered by college and university consortia, systems, and professional groups illustrate a variety of program models. All use shared resources and pooled opportunities of institutions of similar types, missions, and interests, keeping costs down and enhancing opportunities for professional…

Examines effective lesson-planning under the integrated curriculum approach. Proposes a seven-step plan of writing, discussing, and revising proposed plans. Suggests that using the writing process in lesson planning as a team creates a multidisciplinary, integrated curriculum with organized, power-packed lessons and activities, offering a…

A framework is presented for developing collaborative, community-based programs to assist substance-using women and their young children. Five types of service providers are identified: medical personnel, welfare and child protective services, illicit drug use and mental health programs, community protection services, and ethnically based advocacy…

Examined first-year results of the Success for All (SFA) program, designed to bring every student to grade level in reading by third grade. Found that SFA benefits were most significant at the kindergarten level; teachers were highly accepting of the program; and the program's strengths included cooperative learning, regrouping, tutoring, early…

Reports on a study of 34 high-ability fifth-grade students randomly assigned to individual- or cooperative-learning conditions. Finds that achievement was higher on recall and higher order reasoning measures and that the students demonstrated higher academic self-esteem and greater cohesion in the cooperative condition. (CFR)