Establishing a communication-rich classroom can be difficult. This article describes the process and findings of a practitioner action research study addressing the question of how teachers can interact with their students while they are working in groups to encourage and enhance student-to-student communication. Recommended research-based teacher…

Describes discussion group activities which foster student interaction. (DD)

Cooperative learning is a generic classroom technique that requires students to work and talk together about academic material while learning effective interpersonal skills. This packet, prepared in conjunction with the Minnesota School Effectiveness Program, describes the benefits of cooperative learning and defines its critical attributes,…

A classroom discussion activity is described that uses the teacher as an impartial moderator. Students' written responses to a selected subject are organized and commented on by the group, under the teacher's supervision. Suggestions are given for course organization and sequence, extent of teacher involvement in the discussion, and logistics.…

Usual student seminar classes involve students presenting papers to the class. Alternatives to this approach are offered that maximize student audience involvement. The suggestions incorporate variations of sub-grouping, idea generation, discussion of important statements, and the refining, clarification, and evaluation of key statements. (JMD)

Gaming, an approach to problem solving that engages a real life situation, is a technique particularly appealing for design students because it permits learning about the process of change in a dynamic environment requiring periodic decisions. Two games about consensus decisions are discussed: KEEPS and Senior Center Game. (MLW)

Verbal and nonverbal dimensions of communication are a vital part of competitive group discussion. Specific nonverbal elements that have been found useful in competitive group discussion include environment, proxemics, kinesics, objectics, and chronemics. For example, equalizing arrangements for the discussion in the best area of a room enhances…

The literary theorist Terry Eagleton believes that literary study is the study of human discourse. To build on his idea for use in the classroom, it must first be assumed that literature constitutes a dialogue between the work (and its author) and the reader. The dialogue process can be introduced in a 2- to 4-week unit through a cluster of…

Junior Great Books discussions were used to teach critical thinking skills and independent learning behaviors to learning-disabled 5th-grade students. In baseline observations, the seven learning-disabled students exhibited active off-task behaviors and disruptive behavior causing dismissal from the group, while seven students in a…

In this collection of essays, a group of innovative teachers and writers describe the approaches and techniques they have incorporated into their own language teaching. The articles are designed to help classroom teachers make language classes more participatory and communication oriented. The book is divided into three sections: (1) What Is…