Study IDENTIFIERS Calgary Board of Education AB; *Collaborative

A study examined the collaborative process in young children and also the role that the collaborative process played in improving the quality of classroom instruction. Subjects were approximately 60 students in a grade 3/4 pod of two classroom teachers at the University Elementary School, Calgary. A teaching unit of 6 weeks duration dealing with Greek mythology was developed in which a number of plays were shared with the class as a whole, and then the students (working in small groups) developed, wrote, and staged plays. Data were collected through ongoing observations of students in the classroom, field notes, audio- and videotapes of selected small group sessions, and responses to questionnaires. Results indicated that: (1) formal and informal demonstration of the process of collaboration proved to be an effective way of enhancing understanding of the concept; (2) teacher modeling of th