Info Update

Learn To Be Band Manager

2009-07-20T22:57:00.000-07:00

Behind the success of a band (famous and rich !!!), there is a group of supporters of the band is also one of the important part in achieving success. Management is a band (band management, English!). Why? Let's learn together!

What is the management of the band? Is an organization that regulates all things related to the band, such as contact artists, artist promotion, artist equipment, etc.. Band management can be referred to as the organization because there are layout / hierarchy of position or job description in each particular person who is joined in the management. The order of a few positions and Job Deskripsinya is:

1. Head Manager: The person responsible for designing, managing, and implementing plans to front a band, and is responsible for these bands.
2. Road Manager: The person on duty to assist a manager's head, when the set is in the field / a event.dan responsible for the smooth and when the artist needs to do a stage.
3. Stage Manager: The person who set all things when the artist needs akan debut in the stage, and is also responsible for the smooth way dipanggung stage artist and assisted by the crew equipment.
4. Crew Equipment: The person responsible for preparing all equipment used by the player band, the number of crew depends on the number of equipment used artist.
5. Sound Engginer: People who set the harmonize duty sound system produced by the band out on the sound stage, and sound out the main. Sound engginer standartnya the two stage sound system, sound system and main.
6. Documentation: The person responsible for documentation of the band.

The order above is the minimum order is from a band management. The order will increase if the intensity of the band manggung the higher and more famous, and also the job description is also more and more.

In a management, Head manager or manager or the main one can mention the manager thok, a person responsible for the progress of the artist. Progress is measured not only artist with many manggung band, but one also measured dikenalnya with the band through various forms of promotion, such as in the form of a band profile, Video Profile, stickers, posters, myspace, website, etc..

Being a manager is not difficult, provided that want to learn, learning through books and friends. A manager must be a rich, have many acquaintances, but the social attitude of the band manager is absolutely necessary. The text above may only be a reflection of management opener band, then let's learn to become a band manager.

Good Luck!

sexual eccentricity !

2009-07-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

Bizarre that occurred in various parts of the world this can be a reflection or thought that we live in the world events with a diverse and exotic. We do not participate in follow-up-behave strange, because at the bottom of this incident is enough to be a lesson for us all.

1. In Lebanon, men are 'make' with animals, provided that the animal is female. Imposed the death penalty for the man who discovered the animal associated with the male.

2. In Bahrain, male doctors legal tool to check the vital women, but are prohibited from direct viewing during inspection. They were only allowed to see through a mirror.

3. Guam is in full-time job for the men to memerawani girls, who pay them to do the agency relationship the first time ..
The reason: According to the law in Guam, women are still forbidden virgin married.

4. In Hong Kong, if husband making love with another women. wife of legal to kill her husband the children, but only by using the empty hand. While selingkuhannya, may be killed in any way.

5. In Cali, Colombia, women are only associated with the body of her husband, and on the first night, the mother of the woman must be in the room to witness is the scene.

6. In Santa Cruz, Bolivia, the action is against the law if a man do sex relationship with a woman and daughter at the same time.

which choose for you?

What Happened Blitz In The Marriot Hotel

2009-07-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

Bomb destroyed in lobby hotel Ritz Carlton and Marriott, Friday morning. Although indonesian police can't identified manipulator blitz, beginning to focus on allegations Jamaah Islamiyah, or JI, a group militant who want to establish a single Islamic state in most of the Southeast Asia region.

Robert Gunaratna, terrorism experts, Nanyang University of Singapore, although many members of the congregation Islamiyah be confined in prison, the group is still active.

Gunaratna: "congregation Islamiyah still lead terrorist groups in the region, and JI is still a serious threat."

Meanwhile Australia's security experts suspect groups small fragment consisting of the congregation Islamiyah members who are not satisfied as a puppeteer bombardment in Jakarta.

It is said, younger members of the JI with the different opinions of the senior leaders that no longer supports the use of bombs.

JI responsible for the bombardment of Bali in 2002 killed 202 people including 88 Australians. The JI members associated with some other blitz, blitz, including the Australian embassy killed 11 people of Indonesia.

Since 2002, Australia in cooperation with Indonesia to combat extremist because Australia holds, peace in Indonesia's important for stability in the area.

Carl Ungerer from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the new terrorism may be opened in Indonesia.

Ungerer: "Many young members of JI still radical. They did not want to receive rehabilitation program given to them in prison, or the traditional view that JI bombardment campaign must be stopped. They do not accept that. They are inclined to the elements hard line. They are more interested to continue the struggle with violence. "

Australia speaker, said the government of that country condemns the bombardment. Canberra reaffirm warning to residents who want to visit Indonesia, including Bali, due to the threat of terrorist attacks that are very large.

This is a list of victims in the bombardment of action is :

Victims injured:
* 1 person in the victim Pertamina Hospital Center
* 10 people in Jakarta Hospital
* 29 people in Jakarta RS MMC
* 1 person in the hospital Medistra

Victims killed:
6 people in the JW Marriott Hotel:
1. Timothy Mackay, President Director of PT Holcim Indonesia Tbk
2 people at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel
1 person died in hospital Medistra

Name of Victim treated:
RS MMC Kuningan:
1. Giovanni, an Italian
2. Keung Hui Bosco, South Korean citizen
3. Ing Sang Cho, South Korean citizen
4. Ibushi Asu, Japanese citizens
5. Scott Mirilles, Australian citizen
6. Shweta Shukita, citizen, India
7. Louis Simon, an English
8. Peter Van Wesel, Dutch citizen
9. Max Bon, Dutch citizen
10. Gary Ford
11. Cindy, U.S. citizen
12. James Castle, U.S. citizen
13. Andrew Stewart, Norwegian citizen
14. Regi Aalstad, Norwegian citizen
15. Adrianto Makhnbu
16. Catur Rindu
17. Dadang Hidayat
18. Junita
19. Jurika Kartika
20. Kevin
21. Linda
22. Marico
23. Melisa
24. Mr William
25. Noke Kiroyan
26. Oki Utomo
27. Rinaldi Domika
28. Sudargo
29. Yoga
30. Yurika
31. Joseph
32. Joseph P

Hospital Jakarta:
1. Bambang Trianto (30), Satpam Hotel JW Mariott
2. Edward Thielsen, Canadian citizen working in Sailendra Kitchen, JW Marriott
3. Andri Maulana (23)
4. Maulana Sidik (21) employees of Ritz Carlton
5. Aryo Pinandito (31), working in the Ritz Carlton
6. Deni Purwanto
7. Didik Ahmad Taufik (39)
8. Dewi Lestari (22), employees of Panin Bank Branch JW Marriott (may have been returned)
9. Ririn (35), employees of Panin Bank Branch JW Marriott (may have been returned)
10. Henri (39), JW Marriott employees.
11. Sahman (27), work in the JW Marriott
12. Choirul Anam (24) working in the Ritz Carlton
13. Roni M (35),
14. Wahidul Qohar (32),
15. Endang Setiawan (30),

Hospital Medistra:
1. Adrianto western, (64)
2. David Poter, U.S. citizen

Resume Books : The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

2009-07-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

Are The Beatles and the equality of Mozart? Why can two great genius who has a fortune for behind: Robert Oppenheimer and the record of Harvard Cambridge ago fisikawan be leading in the United States while Chris Langan just graduated high school and is now living as a farmer? Why most of the veteran hockey players born in Canada in January? Why pioneering large computer company in the United States almost all born in 1955? Why level the aircraft accident Korean Airlines has a connection with cultural and linguistic analysis?
The questions above do not appear to relate with each other but if we read this book, we will know that there is a red thread seutas made them one: How can achieve success.

Some people assume that success be because instrinsik values: hard work and accomplishment. In this book, Malcolm Gladwell menyanggahnya and memaknai success as a combination of various factors. Success is the end of brilliance, self-will to take advantage of the opportunities that exist, fortune, events in the history of the world and the moment-a moment in time that all of life experienced by the right person and take place at the right place, at the right time.
Indeed, Gladwell, a former journalist of The Washington Post two recent books best-seller since kepindahannya to the New Yorker magazine, is the old ideas. Along any posts, he never explicitly mentions the name of the real figure is not concur with it. He tends to monologue, the debate with the 'we'. I think this happens because it is most likely not have disputed the idea that the classical meaning of success in this book berdesain minimal.
However, Gladwell presenting ideas with the idea-so easy to understand complicated. Like the 'Tipping Point' and 'Blink', two works yangmembuatnya dijuluki pop sociologist by some media, 'Outliers' appear with the language of light and the many case studies that rarely can be accessed through daily or magazine. Many big names and interesting phenomena appear as an example.
See it, Gladwell highlights the tendency of the Jews in the United States to become a lawyer or doctor, and mathematical ability of Asian people that are far better than their colleagues in the West. He then asked, why it all happened? Very probably this is also a question millions of other people who frequently dilontarkan light in the chat in a café or fad discussed in the mailing list. 'Outliers' attempt to answer and the penggila read in the United States shall direct the discussion of this book since publication perdananya November last year.

'Outliers' refers to the situation or the figure is significantly different from the others. The Beatles is the outlier in the history of music world who have produced dozens of famous bands. Bill Gates is the outlier among the hundreds of computer experts who can now easily find us in the era of high-tech this. Level of accidents experienced by Korean Air in the past also includes a high outlier and therefore is considered an unlucky because the plane when the pilot is in prime condition and is eligible to fly the plane be calculated. So what caused them to be outliers?
Let's intip list of 75 richest people throughout history, from Ancient Egyptian figure, namely Cleopatra and the Pharaoh's name to the modern era such as Bill Gates and Sutan Hassanal Bolkiah. If it be a list, we will find a unique form of 14 Americans born between 1831-1839. Think the amount of generation that ranges from start to Pharaoh Bill Gates and the number of countries that have been in the earth. Look at that 20% of the above list that comes from a generation in a country!
Gladwell believes this occurred because the year 1860 and 1870an the United States are the golden: When it is born Wallstreet, the factory was established and the train began to build. They were born around 1850an lost moment to participate because they are too young, while the year of birth 1820an already too old and berpikirnya framework can not follow the development of longer period. Between the two parties terbentanglah this 9-year period, giving babies a golden opportunity to participate in future economic development during adulthood.
Case example above shows our confidence Gladwell very ekstrinsik factors that play a role in the success of someone: a certain event in the history of the world, for example. Appear that he even believes that this element ekstrinsik often specify more than instrinsik. This kind of discussion not only appears at a glance, but the color content of the book is thick. No wonder if the strong radiated away from the content of the book that in a success, the role of hard work order number is only after two fortune.

In fact, as an intellectual who berkutat psychology with science and sociology, he knows the story of Victor Frankl, a psychiatrist who experienced Nazi punishment but can survive up to age 90. In the case of Frankl, who has written more than 20 books after experiencing years of mayhem, much success is determined by the intrinsic value and not ekstrinsik, that is longing to see his wife and the desire to obtain the meaning of life with the work
Impossible as a veteran journalist and author who lived in the United States he did not know letters Mother Theresa of Calcutta. This collection of reports had been the main leading magazines in the country of issue he leaved, TIMES, and to make book in various languages. Albania inner struggle of women clearly shows that this effort can be developed karitasnya, open only survive, largely because of intrinsic values such as patience and resignation.
However, when the book is published, the author is dead. As readers we have full freedom to memaknai success. We can devour this book, either raw or terpana on the savory taste and, at the same time, readers who have a critical attitude.

can be purchased in Outliers: The Story of Success
or click image below :

Latest Generation Kindle

2009-07-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

For those of you who like to walk on Amazon.com, you may already see this gadget.

For those who can't understand for this kindle, I kind-hearted to tell you about this gadget. Amazon Kindle electronic book is not just a normal book This book has many advanced features that are able make you are interested, when you see it. Called electronic paper technology are used to design a display screen. this gadget have resolution screen technology to create this high display the Kindle this seem like normal paper. If the electronic paper is still not enough, he would still serve connectivity who are able to connect with the wireless network that allows it to bookmarks, search and access to Wikipedia. Ergonomis the design and weighing only 10.3 oz which makes it easy to carry everywhere, because this is portable. What if exposed to the virus? do not affraid if lose it. Kindle is also able to perform backups to online media owned by them, so I need to fear ebook you lost due to virus move beautiful. Online because they are capable, then you can also purchase the ebook from KindleStore available, and read books that you have purchased. Confused with the term queer? then simply open a built-in dictionary of the Kindle this. Text size on Kindle inidapat sized, want dikecilin OK, Baterei the Kindle is able to survive up to 2 hours even in the package purchase price of U.S. $ 399, you will also get a book cover, power adapter, USB cable and of course the reader Kindle itself.
We’re excited to announce that Amazon's bestselling 6-inch Kindle is now only $299. With this exciting new low price, summer reading just got a lot more fun!

Sleek and lightweight, Kindle is as thin as a typical magazine and holds over 1,500 books. An advanced display reads like real paper and boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and crisp images.If you are interested, can be purchased Click here

U.S. marine army Enter "The Hell"

2009-07-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

Nawa - marine United States began to enter the villages hiding Taliban troops in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. Yesterday (3 / 7), they are "greeted" with the battle that killed a soldier and injure tens of others. "They now go in a fire fight," said the operations commander, brigadier general Larry Nicholson, mengibaratkan.

In the second day, the marine brigade successful jockey in the main district of Nawa and Garmser. Currently they are preparing to step into merangsek Khan Neshin, capital of the district Rig. Until yesterday evening, they will still negotiate with the tribal leaders to ask for permission to enter their territory.

This military operation is the largest military operation since the fall of Taliban government in 2001. At least 4,000 marine sent in since the operation that began Thursday (2 / 7) is betting that the first U.S. President Barack Obama in the strategy against the Taliban. The first day of operation, he said, successful repulse Taliban from the city in the province. Terberat part, he added, is the hunt Taliban in their pockets.

However, according to spokesman Batalion infantry 1 / 5, Captain Bill Pelletier, did they not pursue Taliban. "The focus operation is not to win but to kill Taliban influence in the community," he said. It was, he said, not that easy, because the stranger is always seen with suspicion. Mission first phase in the Province of Helmand, said he, will take up to several days.

The attack on the area of 88 km, which is under Taliban control is a pilot event for the Obama strategy seed the new leadership in Afghanistan Helmand. During this time, this province can not dikata left the U.S. military operation. Helmand, the field opiumnya area, who are a source of financial Taliban.

According to Haji Mohammad akhtar, Gereshk villagers who now live in lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, the road long U.S. troops will found. According to him, on the one hand, support the local residents will be difficult because they realized terlanjur apriori against foreign citizens. On the other hand, "will be difficult to distinguish where the Taliban and civilians," he said.

Southern Afghanistan is a unique region. In addition to the "nest" Taliban, in the region also live many ethnic Pashtun, the largest tribe supporting Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.

Meanwhile, the attack aircraft without the crew in the U.S. south in the Waziristan region of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan yesterday killed 13 militants and injure 30 others. In the attack, the training facilities owned by Pakistani Taliban leader, House Mehsud was reported destroyed. The same thing also happened in the area of their hideaway in Kokat Khel.

Attack aircraft without crew reap controversy in Pakistan some time ago. The attack this acapkali target civilians including children.

UN: Israel is the blockade Crimes Humanity

2009-07-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

According to Richard Falk, Israel violates the Geneva Convention.

Jerusalem - The United Nations (UN) to declare Gaza blockade Israel who is now in progress to crimes against humanity. Confiscation of the goods to Gaza humanitarian aid is also considered as a step that violates the law.

Such a step''is part of the barbaric Israeli blockade of the entire Palestinian people in Gaza. This also violates the Geneva Convention,''said Richard Falk, UN Special rapporteur on human rights in Palestinian territories, Israel as quoted daily, Haaretz. Friday (3 / 7).

Tuesday, the Israeli flag that a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza and carry 21 pro-Palestinian activists. The Government of Israel states that ships can not be allowed entry into Gaza because of the security risks and still diberlakukannya blockade.

According to Falk, the convention prohibits collective punishment against diberlakukannya population in the area occupation. According to international law experts, the descendants of Jews, the Israeli blockade for two years to restrict the entry of Gaza supply vital materials such as food and medicines.

Falk add blockade also prevents the entrance of fuel and other essential materials that are required of Gaza. Based on the statement of the International Red Cross (ICRC), Israel also did not allow the entry of materials to Gaza.

Pattern''blockade such that up to now continue to be a serious violation of the Geneva Convention can be said berlanjutnya and crimes against humanity,''Falk said in a statement in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ago in the March report, Falk also says that the Israeli attack against Gaza on 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009 ago was a war crime. This attack caused about 1400 people died and 900 people including civilians.

Dubes Israel but to the UN in Geneva, Aharon Leshno-Yaar, rejected the statement Falk. He stated that Falk is known for this with the statement of bias and anti-Israel. He added that Israel allow the aid into Gaza.

During this time, clearly Yaar, assistance into Gaza through coordination between Israel, Egypt, Palestine and the government. He cited Reuters, said the ship would go to Gaza on Tuesday, clearly want to create propaganda against Israel.

The Free Gaza activist based in the U.S., said that the nobel prize winner of Irish origin, Mairead Maguire and former member of U.S. Congress, Cynthia McKinney, in a ship that is not allowed to enter in Gaza.

The findings Archeology Saxon

2009-07-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

Discovery of archaeological value in Ramsgate, Kent, UK couples show''lie''in the land in line with one hand a squeeze, but the findings still leave mystery hidden 1000 years ago.

First, scientists think if the pair is a man with a wife who died together, but further research says if two people is the possibility that the two men hold each other, be it with the soldiers who died and buried in the ground.

Burial is not always derived from the Saxon period between 410 M and 1066 M. Currently, forensic tests are carried out to determine the sex pair, and precisely when they are buried.

Adrian Gollop, project head at the National Archeology Cantebury, who led the excavation, as dilansir by Telegraph.co.uk, said "This is one of the discovery of a quite rare,"

"The body is right, very clearly is the man. Highest their unusual, both over 6 feet (more dar 180 cm). While the right has the signs of women but it also looks like a skull man," said Adrian

"Until we check the bone-bone, we can not ensure 100 percent," said Adrian again. The findings of the skull now be surrounded by moat. Initially Adrian and joined scientists think they come from the Iron Age, but now they think they are more to the future-the Saxon period.

Saxon period is the period where the nation of the original Saxon of Germany, and immigrated menginvasi island Great Britain, with the angles, Jutes, Frisian and Frank, after the fall of Roman domination in the West about a century 449 M. Because of that, race consists of a collective German Saxon, angles, and Jutes who live on the island of Great Britain and then called the Anglo-Saxon.

"When we tend to see the beginning of the two skull as a pair, we now think they may be buried as a brother. They died together and buried together," said Adrian. "There are no artefacts buried with them that can provide guidance. This is really a mystery, "Adrian supplement

Tests of the bones was not done, but if they hope forensic examination may provide more guidance, who is the second pair. In addition to these two pairs of the skull, the archeologists also have found tombs and artefacts with a range estimated to come from the Early bronze Age (between 2700 BC and 1500 BC) in the Middle age and location of the 90 Acre. "This is really archaeological discovery of the extraordinary," said Adrian

Writing as Process

2007-09-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

"Process writing is learning how to write by writing," notes Stone (1995, p. 232). This current emphasis in writing instruction focuses on the process of creating writing rather than the end product (Tompkins, 1990). The basic premise of process writing is that all children, regardless of age, can write. The initial focus is on creating quality content and learning the genres of writing.

Pre-writing strategies
Once you have thesis statement just start writing! Don't feel constrained by format issues. Don't worry about spelling, grammar, or writing in complete sentences. Brainstorm and write down everything you can think of that might relate to the thesis and then reread and evaluate the ideas you generated. It's easier to cut out bad ideas than to only think of good ones. Once you have a handful of useful ways to approach thesis you can use a basic outline structure to begin to think about organization. Remember to be flexible; this is just a way to get you writing. If better ideas occur to you as you're writing, don't be afraid to refine your original ideas.
Starting the Writing Process :
The quality of your writing will reflect the time and forethought you put into the assignment. Plan ahead for the assignment by doing pre-writing: this will allow you to be more productive and organized when you sit down to write. Also, schedule several blocks of time to devote to your writing; then, you can walk away from it for a while and come back later to make changes and revisions with a fresh mind.

Brainstorming
What do you do before you write?
You brainstorm about the idea or topic you are writing about. Everybody brainstorms before writing about something, even famous authors like J.K. Rowling, Beverly Cleary, and Judy Blume. Brainstorming is a way to think up ideas for a story or a book. Write down everything that comes to mind.
Any crazy thought might become a good story that you write. Brainstorming can help you write about something serious, or just a story that you write for fun. To get ideas, look around you, or read lots of books you like and you could write the next book of a series that you like, or you could ask friends or family for strange or funny ideas.
Use the rhetorical elements as a guide to think through your writing
Thinking about your assignment in terms of the rhetorical situation can help guide you in the beginning of the writing process. Topic, audience, genre, style, opportunity, research, the writer, and purpose are just a few elements that make up the rhetorical situation.
Topic and audience are often very intertwined and work to inform each other. Start with a broad view of your topic such as skateboarding, pollution, or the novel Jane Eyre and then try to focus or refine your topic into a concise thesis statement by thinking about your audience. Here are some questions you can ask yourself about audience:
* Who is the audience for your writing?
* Do you think your audience is interested in the topic? Why or why not?
* Why should your audience be interested in this topic?
* What does your audience already know about this topic?
* What does your audience need to know about this topic?
* What experiences has your audience had that would influence them on this topic?
* What do you hope the audience will gain from your text?
For example, imagine that your broad topic is dorm food. Who is your audience? You could be writing to current students, prospective students, parents of students, university administrators, or nutrition experts among others. Each of these groups would have different experiences with and interests in the topic of dorm food. While students might be more concerned with the taste of the food or the hours food is available parents might be more concerned with the price.
You can also think about opportunity as a way to refine or focus your topic by asking yourself what current events make your topic relevant at this moment. For example, you could connect the nutritional value of dorm food to the current debate about the obesity epidemic or you could connect the price value of dorm food to the rising cost of a college education overall.

When writing, students work through the stages of the writing process. The creation of writing occurs in basically five stages: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Prewriting is the planning and idea-gathering stage. Drafting refers to time spent composing a rough draft. Revising is the process of improving the draft. Students reread their work and share it with a partner or small group; they then make changes in the writing based on the feedback from their peers. Editing is the process of correcting mechanical errors. Publishing, or sharing, is accomplished in a wide variety of ways when the work is in final form. Student of all ages move back and forth among these stages while writing; the stages are not lockstep or sequential (Gardner & Johnson, 1997; Tompkins, 1990).

Cooperative Learning ?

2007-09-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

Cooperative Learning is one of the best researched of all teaching strategies.Learning can be structured competitively, so that students work against each other; individually, so that students work alone; or cooperatively, so that students work together to accomplish shared learning goals. David W. and Roger R. Johnson, professors, and co-directors of the Cooperative Learning Center at the University of Minnesota, recommend that, while all three structures should be used, cooperation should play the dominant role in any classroom.
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it.
Collaborative learning is a method of teaching and learning in which students team together to explore a significant question or create a meaningful project. A group of students discussing a lecture or students from different schools working together over the Internet on a shared assignment are both examples of collaborative learning.

Why use Cooperative Learning?

Research has shown that cooperative learning techniques:
* promote student learning and academic achievement
* increase student retention
* enhance student satisfaction with their learning experience
* help students develop skills in oral communication
* develop students' social skills
* promote student self-esteem
* help to promote positive race relations

In order for cooperative activities to be successful, teachers need to give attention to the following key elements:
A. Group Size/Composition -- Johnson and Johnson report the highest levels of success occur when groups are kept small. In fact, they favor groups of two (dyads) for many cooperative tasks, with the number of group members increasing in proportion to the complexity of the task. Teachers introducing cooperative learning for the first time might let students select their own groups. But once comfort is established, the greatest potential for benefit occurs in heterogeneous groupings, with the teacher assuring a balanced mix of ethnic groups, females/males, handicapped with non-handicapped students, and students of low-to-high ability and productivity.
B. Group Functions -- Students may work in groups on any of the assignments they would ordinarily do alone. They may meet to collaborate on solving a problem, to discuss an issue without direct leading by the teacher, to brainstorm for new ideas or summarize what they have learned about ideas previously presented, to formulate concepts out of information and facts they have been given. Particularly valuable is the potential of a group to share the parts of a complex project or jointly produce an assigned product. Goals for the group might range from practice in group communication processes to preparation for a presentation to the whole class group.
C. Group Norms -- Teachers need to proceed slowly and with patience to introduce students to cooperative learning. It is not enough to rearrange the seating. A "culture" of group work needs to be developed that includes expectations regarding noise level, an atmosphere of trust, absence of "put-downs," equal participation, and willingness to help one another. The use of group grades is controversial, but Johnson and Johnson report good results from encouraging "we sink or swim together" mindsets. It is important that students learn to coach and teach each other. Brighter students' learning is enhanced by their efforts to teach the others; less-capable students benefit from increased one-to-one attention.
D. Group Skills -- Students need to be taught procedures and given practice opportunities for rearranging the classroom space, moving quietly into groups, responding to teachers' signals for attention, etc. So, too, it is important for them to receive explicit instruction and regular practice in the interpersonal skills that this method, as well as life in a democratic society, requires. These include:
1. Teamwork
2. Support, and acceptance of differences
3. Active/reflective listening
4. Positive feedback
5. Reaching consensus
6. Coaching and tutoring others
E. Group Goals and Roles -- Clear instructions, goals, and time lines for group activities are essential to successful cooperative learning. It is also important that each member have a specific function within the group: recorder, reporter, monitor, observer, facilitator.