The second part of the book contains six chapters that describe a variety of peer learning techniques or models of collaboration, many of which are influenced by the work of Vygotsky and Piaget. Three of the chapters in this section specifically address the quality of discourse within a peer learning group (Person & Graesser, Webb & Farivar, and King) and issues related to providing support for effective peer interaction. Two additional chapters by O'Donnell and by Palincsar and Herrenkohl extend this discussion. The final chapter in this section (Derry) provides a critique of these chapters.

The third part of the book contains four chapters that consider the role of the teacher and the skills needed by the teacher when using peer learning as an instructional strategy. Cooper (chapter nine) describes the general conditions that are necessary for effective peer learning and discusses the choices that classroom teachers must make in support of such learning. In Chapter 10, Meloth and Deering describe the difficulties experienced by teachers in implementing peer learning. They argue for the importance of the instruction provided to students before they work in groups, the teacher's monitoring of group activities, and the teacher's beliefs about learning and collaboration.

Harris, J. R. (1998). The nurture assumption: Why children turn out the way they do. New York: The Free Press.

This book makes a controversial claim: It's not parents who have the main environmental (non-genetic) effect on how children develop; it's the children's peers. "Group socialization theory [Harris' theory] makes this prediction: that children would develop into the same sort of adults if we left their lives outside the home unchanged--left them in their schools and their neighborhoods--but switched the parents around" (p. 359). The book is relevant to CL because CL provides ways to foster positive influences among peers.

The book has its own homepage: home.att.net/~xchar/tna/

Marrow, A. J. (1977). The practical theorist: The life and work of Kurt Lewin. New York: Teachers College Press.

Kurt Lewin was a psychologist of the first half of the 20th century whose profound effect on the development of CL is acknowledged by such scholars as Roger and David Johnson and Yael Sharan and Shlomo Sharan. The concept of positive interdependence, central to most approaches to CL, derives from the pioneering work on group dynamics of Lewin and his colleagues. This biography, by a colleague of Lewin, provides insight into the person, his work, and his ideas.