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The model of the six mirrors of the classroom and its use in teaching biology in a cooperative learning mode were implemented in high school classrooms. In this study we present: a) The model of the six mirrors of the classroom (MSMC). b) Cooperative learning settings: 1. The Group Investigation; 2. The Jigsaw Method; and 3. Peer Tutoring in Small Investigative Groups (PTSIG). c) Two biology topics: 1. Microorganism; 2. Evolution. The MSMC examines the processes of a) organization, b) learning tasks, c) teacher instructional behaviors, d) teachers' communicative behaviors, e) students' academic performance, and (f) students' social behaviors. Each mirror is described in terms of five levels of complexity from simple to complex. Both subjects were taught in Cooperative Leaning Methods: The Jigsaw Method, Group Investigation (GI) rooted in Dewey's (1927) philosophy, and Peer Tutoring in small Investigative Groups which is a combination of the Jigsaw method and Group Investigation. Two biology subjects were instructed through the MSCM and PTSIG: 1) Microorganisms, learning unit written in Arabic and Hebrew for 9th grade students in the STS approach structured around two biological principles: a) the unity of the life, b) the relationship between structure and function. 2) Evolution, learning unit for 12th grade students, included topics on Lamarck's, Darwin's and neutral theories, punctuated equilibrium, genetics diversity, natural selection, specialization and phylogenesis. The paper will include the subjects, research procedure and results. [For complete volume, see ED567118.]

This paper considers four aspects of online communities. Design, mechanisms, architecture, and the constructed knowledge. We hypothesize that different designs of communities drive different mechanisms, which give rise to different architectures, which in turn result in different levels of collaborative knowledge construction. To test this chain of hypotheses, we analyzed the recorded responsiveness data of two online communities of learners having different designs: a formal, structured team, and an informal, non-structured, Q&A forum. The designs are evaluated according to the Social Interdependence Theory of Cooperative Learning. Knowledge construction is assessed through Content Analysis. The architectures are revealed by Statistical Analysis of p* Markov Models for the communities. The mechanisms are then identified by matching the predictions of Network Emergence Theories with the observed architectures. The hypotheses are strongly supported. Our analysis shows that the minimal-effort hunt-for-social-capital mechanism controls a major behavior of both communities: negative tendency to respond. Differences in the goals, interdependence and the promotive interaction features of the designs of the two communities lead to the development of different mechanisms: cognition balance and peer pressure in the team, but not in the forum. Exchange mechanism in the forum, but not in the team. In addition, the pre-assigned role of the tutor in the forum gave rise to its responsibility mechanism in that community, but not in team community. These differences in the mechanisms led to the formation of different sets of virtual neighborhoods, which show up macroscopically as differences in the cohesion and the distribution of response power. These differences are associated with the differences in the buildup of knowledge in the two communities. The methods can be extended to other relations in online communities and longitudinal analysis, and for real-time monitoring of online communications.

In this study a program for using computers in science classrooms was developed and implemented in a preservice training course for secondary biology teachers (N=31; 8 males and 23 females) in Israel. The effects on student teachers' attitudes were investigated. The program included a sequence of activities in which student teachers became acquainted with the use of relevant software in their subject matter and critically discussed how to intergrate the computer assisted instruction (CAI) into an existing curriculum in their science classrooms. Data obtained in a post-test attitudes questionnaire were compared with the pre-test data and analyzed with a t-test. Student teachers' attitudes became significantly more positive toward the use of CAI in high school curricula in each of the questionnaire's four factors: (1) teaching strategies; (2) understanding science; (3) classroom learning environment; and (4) students' self-esteem. The student teacher questionnaire is appended. (KR)