Akan, O. H.  [Obasi-Akan@utc.edu] (2005). Concrescent conversations: Generating a cooperative learning experience in principles of management - a postmodern analysis. Journal of Education for Business, 80 (4), 214-217.

By taking a postmodern ontology that elevates becoming over the modern ontology of being, the author of this article proposes a theory and describes a method that teachers can use to enhance students' cooperative learning of management principles. The author asserts that the social construction of learning groups is an effect of organizing micropractices embedded in a special type of talk, referred to as "concrescent conversation." The author offers an instructor's guide for generating concrescent conversation or disclosing, questioning, and steering verbal behaviors that facilitate students' cooperative learning of management principles.

Zhang, R. (2004). Using the principles of Exploratory Practice to guide group work in an extensive reading class in China. Language Teaching Research, 8, 331-345.

Exploratory Practice emphasizes integrating research into pedagogy, and attaches great importance to the quality of life in the classroom. It suggests that we work primarily to understand language classroom life, to bring people together, and to develop students’ language competency in a harmonious atmosphere. By putting EP principles into my teaching practice, I explore ways of solving a problem I experienced in teaching English extensive reading to English majors in a Chinese University.

Hernandez, S. A. [hernandez@rider.edu], Morales, E., & Baker, I. (2005). Developing study skills in a team learning class: An intervention by the learning center. Journal of Student Centered Learning, 2 (3), 223-230.

A class intervention by the university’s learning center in a day section of Marketing Principles was established so that students in a team learning course could read and comprehend text material on their own effectively. Weekly journal writing and end-of-semester course evaluations provide evidence that most students found the study-skills workshop useful. The majority of students in this class reported using more effective study methods as a result of the intervention.

Malmqvist, A. (2005). How does group discussion in reconstruction tasks affect written language output? Language Awareness, 14 (2&3), 128-141.

This article reports on a small-scale study involving adult L1 Swedish learners of L3 German. The main aim of the study was to investigate the effects of group interaction on written German output employing the dictogloss technique. Three short texts were selected for reconstruction, the first and third ones individually, and the second one collectively. The group interactions during the reconstruction of the second text were audiotaped. The first stage of the analysis compared the individually reconstructed with the collectively reconstructed ones, and differences in length as well as in complexity between the two categories were demonstrated. In the second stage the audiotaped interactions were analysed with respect to what features were focused on in the identified language-related episodes (LREs), content/ meaning, lexical or grammar. The results show that the majority of the LREs were directed towards grammar, more specifically towards the noun phrase, with case and gender as the most frequently negotiated issues. The last stage of the analysis concerned the outcomes of the LREs, relating them to the participants’ proficiency levels and personality traits, as well as to interpersonal dynamics. Some implications are drawn for further research on the effects of negotiations of meaning and form on written output.

Messier, W. P. [wpm@umac.mo] (2005). Traditional teaching strategies versus cooperative teaching strategies: Which can improve achievement scores in Chinese middle schools? Journal of Student Centered Learning, 2 (3), 231-238.

This study examines two teaching styles in Chinese middle schools, tradition lecture-based and cooperative learning. The study uses simple descriptive statistics to analyze economic status and achievement scores for both strategies in four Chinese middle schools. There were 145 randomly selected middle school students involved in the study. The results showed that the participants in the traditional lecture-based group obtained higher achievement scores during the course of the semester. The paper concludes with some discussion about the application, implementation and recommendation of traditional and cooperative learning and their impact on educational leaders, school improvement, educational policy, and educational reforms.

Jensen, M., Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2002). Impact of positive interdependence during electronic quizzes on discourse and achievement. Journal of Educational Research, 95 (3), 161-166.

* Examined the effects of positive interdependence versus no interdependence on college students' academic achievement. Students took weekly electronic quizzes where they could interact with groupmates in a chat room. Achievement was measured via biweekly examinations. Students in the positive interdependence condition engaged in significantly more interaction and more promotive interaction during the quizzes and achieved higher scores on the examination.

Sutton, M. [masutton@kean.edu] (2005). Three teachers of first-year collaborative writing. Journal of Student Centered Learning, 2 (3), 213-221.

This article profiles three teachers of First-Year Composition, who include collaborative writing assignments in their courses, and compares and contrasts their pedagogical choices without judging them. The goal of these profiles is to present ideas that other instructors may adapt in their own classes.

Straton, J. C. [straton@pdx.edu ] (2005). Communicating in a group. Journal of Student Centered Learning, 2 (3), 195-203.

Student-centered learning requires teachers to provide students with opportunities to learn from and with each other, but most students come to group-work ill-equipped to handle the responsibility of cleanly communicating with each other. This paper provides one set of group-communication tolls that helps students to become conscious molders of their own communication styles in relation to those of their peers.

Topping, K. [k.j.topping@dundee.ac.uk]  (2005). Trends in peer learning. Educational Psychology, 25 (6), 631–645.

Developments in forms of peer learning 1981–2006 are reviewed, focusing mainly on peer tutoring, cooperative learning, and peer assessment. Types and definitions of peer learning are explored, together with questions of implementation integrity and consequent effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Benefits to helpers are now emphasized at least as much as benefits to those helped. In this previously under-theorized area, an integrated theoretical model of peer learning is now available. Peer learning has been extended in types and forms, in curriculum areas and in contexts of application beyond school. Engagement in helping now often encompasses all community members, including those with special needs. Social and emotional gains now attract as much interest as cognitive gains. Information technology is now often a major component in peer learning, operating in a variety of ways. Embedding and sustainability has improved, but further improvement is needed.

Johnson, D. W. [dwj@visi.com], & Johnson, R. T. (2005). Essential components of peace education. Theory into Practice, 44(4), 280-292.

Peace education is a key for establishing a consensual peace and maintaining it over time. There are 5 essential elements in building a lasting peace through education. First, a public education system must be established that has compulsory attendance for all children and youth, integrated so students from previously conflicting groups interact with one another and have the opportunity to build positive relationships with each other. Second, a sense of mutuality and common fate needs to be established that highlights mutual goals, the just distribution of benefits from achieving the goals, and a common identity. In schools, this is primarily done through the use of cooperative learning. Third, students must be taught the constructive controversy procedure to ensure they know how to make difficult decisions and engage in political discourse. Fourth, students must be taught how to engage in integrative negotiations and peer mediation to resolve their conflicts with each other constructively. Finally, civic values must be inculcated that focus students on the long-term common good of society.

Grenier, M. [grenier@cisunix.unh.edu], Dyson, B., & Yeaton, P. (2005). Cooperative learning that includes students with disabilities. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 76(6), 29-35.

Inclusionary practice is based on the premise that students with disabilities can contribute to class learning while attaining targeted learning goals through the general physical education curriculum (Individuals and Disabilities Education Act, 1990; Lipsky & Gartner, 1997). Meaningful placement in an inclusive setting involves a careful analysis of the curricular and instructional goals, and the determination of whether these goals effectively meet the needs of the student with disabilities (Block, 2000). This practice challenges teachers to value and accept diversity, to collaborate with colleagues in all aspects of teaching, and to use instructional practices that have proven efficacy with heterogeneous classes (Sapon-Shevin, 1999; Villa & Thousand, 2000).

In this article, cooperative learning is discussed as an instructional strategy that encourages students to work together and that enhances motivation for learning (Johnson & Johnson, 1989; Polloway, Patton, & Serna, 2001). Cooperative learning is presented through the depiction of a scenario inspired by observations made during a research study, which took place in an elementary school in southern New Hampshire. Support for cooperative learning was enhanced by the school's strong inclusionary stance and by collaborative practices between general and special educators. The context for the scenario is a third-grade classroom containing a child with cerebral palsy who is unable to walk or sit without support and has delayed processing skills. Having taught the student for several years, the general education teacher was familiar with his Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals and knowledgeable about ways to adapt the curriculum to meet his particular needs. The student's physical goals include increasing mobility skills in his wheelchair as well as the range of motion in his upper and lower extremities. His social goals include enhancing his self-advocacy skills through partnering with peers. When used in physical education, cooperative learning allows students with disabilities to learn to interact with their peers in ways that promote the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective goals that are highlighted in the national standards (National Association for Sport and Physical Education [NASPE], 2004). In the scenario, this instructional strategy fulfills the student's social goals, while the fitness and throwing components of the class target the student's psychomotor goals.

Gaze, E. C. (2005). Manipulating the gradient. Primus: Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies, 15 (2) 109-116.

We introduce a cooperative learning group lab for a Calculus III course to facilitate comprehension of the gradient vector and directional derivative concepts. The lab is a hands-on experience allowing students to manipulate a tangent plane and empirically measure the effect of partial derivatives on the direction of optimal ascent.

Paulus, T. M. [tpaulus@utk.edu] (2005). Collaborative and cooperative approaches to online group work: The impact of task type. Distance Education, 26(1), 111-125.

One purpose of online group projects is to encourage collaborative dialogue for new knowledge construction. During such projects students have a dual objective: learn through constructing new knowledge together while also completing the task. Cooperative approaches to task completion are an alternative to collaborative dialogue. The impact of task type on collaborative versus cooperative approaches to group projects has not been greatly examined in online environments. Transcripts of 10 small groups completing two types of tasks, synthesis or application, in an online graduate course were analyzed using Herring's computer-mediated discourse analysis and Pearson's chi-square tests to determine (a) whether groups took a collaborative or cooperative approach to task completion when explicitly encouraged to collaborate; and (b) whether the type of task affected the approach used. Overall, groups chose to cooperate more than collaborate, with application task groups taking a significantly more cooperative approach and synthesis task groups a significantly more collaborative approach. Implications for the design of online group tasks are discussed.

Downing, K., [sckevin@cityu.edu.hk] & Chim, T. M. (2004). Reflectors as online extraverts? Educational Studies, 30 (3), 265–276.

Increasingly, online learning is perceived as an effective method of instruction. Much recent educational research has focused on examining the purposes and situations for which online education is best suited. In this paper, students enrolled in two online courses are compared with their peers enrolled in equivalent classroom-based courses to investigate aspects of the relationship between learning style and mode of delivery. Student satisfaction measures are taken from participants in both modes of delivery and compared with student learning style. Feedback from the 'Reflector' learning style demonstrates higher satisfaction levels with the online mode of delivery compared with their matched counterparts following equivalent classroom-based courses. Therefore, whilst 'Reflectors' might be regarded as Introverts in the traditional classroom setting, the additional time for reflection offered by online delivery makes this group more likely to contribute to online discussion, report higher satisfaction levels and generally behave more like online Extraverts.

Williams, D. [devonwilliams92@hotmail.com] (2004). Improving race relations in higher education: The jigsaw classroom as a missing piece to the puzzle. Urban Education, 39 (3), 316-344.

This article suggests that colleges and universities can improve intergroup relations on campus by implementing a cooperative learning technique known as the jigsaw classroom. What is argued is that use of the jigsaw classroom will facilitate a recategorization process by which members of racial-ethnic groups other than one's own ("them") will begin to be seen as being members of a more inclusive "we." Included in this article is an examination of on-campus racial discrimination, a discussion of some social psychological work that is useful in helping us understand why this discrimination exists, and a discussion of the ways in which the jigsaw classroom has the potential to reduce this discrimination.

Tocalli-Beller, A. (2003). Cognitive conflict, disagreement and repetition in collaborative groups: Affective and social dimensions from an insider’s perspective. Canadian Modern Language Review, 60 (2), 143-71.

The paper examines conflict, disagreement, and repetition in a collaborative group and the social interactions and lessons that occur due to them. By examining my own participation and reflections in a content-based collaboratively structured course and analyzing them from within a sociocultural theory of mind, the point is made that the study of cognitive conflict, disagreement and repetition in collaborative groups holds substantial potential for understanding the socially mediated process of learning. This understanding will, in turn, provide insightful information about group work in L2 classrooms.

*          Abstract from ERIC - http://www.eric.ed.gov.

**        Abstract is the introduction to the article

***      Abstract written for this compilation