ABSTRACT
Like her elementary counterpart, the social studies teacher has worried, prior to the start of the school year, about the matter of discipline in her classroom. Whereas the elementary teacher typically has some room to work with the structural problems that impede teacher arid student learning, conditions are generally tougher for the secondary teacher. Given the moral imperatives she sees embedded in a life dedicated to rural education, quitting is out of the question. She worked with the principal to schedule a time when they could use the auditorium for a miniconference and debate. She encouraged the students to prepare visual aids to enhance the effectiveness of their arguments relative to their question. She had learned enough about cooperative learning in her teacher preparation program to know that there are problems with the approach that require thoughtful attention. She had prepared a peer assessment form, which the students completed the day after the miniconference.
