The relationship between teaching and learning is a most central issue in education research, but it is yet to be fully understood. Variation Theory provides an explanatory account for teaching and learning and offers a specific view on what it means to learn: to discriminate and to discern critical aspects of the object of learning. This paper…

Self-talk has been recognised as an important tool used by children to regulate their thinking and behaviour. Existing studies typically characterise children's self-talk according to broad categories that do not allow for investigation of self-regulatory aspects of children's internalised self-talk. The findings reported in this paper are based…

The aim of this article is to foster dialogue between proponents of Alexander's notion of dialogic teaching and those working with educational linguistics--in particular those working with systemic functional theory. To this end, the article begins by highlighting important points of alignment between dialogic teaching and systemic theory: their…

This paper explores how students' talk in classrooms is influenced by a whole-school focus on lifting the quality, and the substantive nature, of classroom dialogue as an approach to improve student engagement, and to develop listening and speaking skills. Specifically, we show how designing and participating in whole-school professional learning…

Over the last decade, interactive whiteboards have become popular teaching and learning tools, especially in primary school classrooms. Research studies from recent literature report on high levels of student motivation, teacher enthusiasm and whole-school support associated with these technological tools. Much research to date has reported on the…

Michel Foucault's discourse theory and Pierre Bourdieu's critical sociology are used to reexamine early literacy training. The resulting model is used to describe educational discourse, particularly in a series of literacy events in an Australian first-grade classroom. Implications for pedagogy are discussed. (70 references) (Author/MSE)

Issues and patterns in second language learning are discussed, drawing on a 1985 study with learners of English as a second language in Australia. Discussion begins with an analysis of the process of learning one form of verb marking, the ending "-ing." The inherent complexity of this form in English is examined, and ways in which…

Teaching and learning science through the use of familiar contexts has been advocated for several decades. Many take the use of context in science lessons to mean the use of resource materials that involve common scenarios or themes, or activities. This paper reviews a lesson identified by a teacher as a lesson taught in context. The data…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…