Non-English speaking students lack the confidence and preparation to be verbally actively engaged in the classroom. Students may frequently display hesitation in learning to speak English, and may also lack a teacher's guidance in becoming proficient English speakers. The purpose of this research is to examine how teachers build academic…

This research project was conducted at a high school in a suburban metropolitan area in the Midwest from August 21, 2006 through October 26, 2006. The purpose of the research was to improve student achievement and motivation through the posting and communicating of daily learning objectives. The research participants included 150 students and five…

This report describes a program that enhanced vocabulary development and communication within the content area of mathematics. The targeted population was a rural K-12 school district located in the Midwest approximately an hour from three major metropolitan cities. Evidence for the existence of the problem included teachers' observation,…

The ultimate goal of this study was to specify conditions which affect achievement in the chemistry laboratory through an understanding of instructor-student interaction. The Flanders System of Interaction Analysis was used to measure the ratio of indirect to direct teaching (I/D/ Ratio) during pre-lab and post-lab sections of eight two-hour…

This study presents a dramatistic analysis of the language used by four teachers, all of whom were considered excellent by their department directors, by their students, and by the parents of their students. Regular freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior literature classes were videotaped. Dialogue was then transcribed, and nonverbal activity,…

This study evaluated the Philadelphia Affective Education Development Program (AEDP) as it affected student relationships within the classroom and student perceptions of the classroom climate. The differences between four AEDP and four regular English classes from one high school were determined in regard to (1) sociometric structure as analyzed…

This report describes a program for improving students' oral and written communication in mathematics. The target population consisted of third and fourth grade classes in a suburban, middle class community located in a large Midwestern state. The current lack of communication was demonstrated by the results of class surveys, student interviews,…

This investigation studied that relationship between structured teacher-student verbal interaction and critical thinking ability of students in an introductory course in general college biology. This interaction took the form of lecture, of discussion using broad questions, and of discussion using narrow questions as the three primary teaching…

The verbal interaction of science inquiries in homogeneous and heterogeneous small groups was investigated in this study involving 106 students of chemistry from two schools in a large urban district. Films depicting chemical phenomena were presented. Students were then divided into small groups and asked to generate test hypotheses to explain the…

This research project seeks to implement journaling as a means of improving oral communication in the classroom. The student population will consist of an elementary reading class, a junior high art class, and a high school math class. The probable cause literature gathered revealed a lack oral communication occurs in the classroom during…

The purpose of this project was to initiate a classroom journal-writing program that would provide children with an opportunity to express themselves freely, and that would offer useful information for improving relationships within the classroom. Both students and teacher kept daily journals for a year. Four simple rules governed the procedure,…

This study describes a program designed to increase student background knowledge in order to improve reading comprehension. The targeted first grade class is located in a Midwest, middle class, metropolitan community. More than half of the school's population is identified as low-income. Evidence for the existence of the problem was obtained…

This master's thesis investigates the evaluative instruments currently available for measuring nonverbal behaviors in the classroom. Chapters discuss the following topics: classroom nonverbal communication, major and minor evaluative instruments, problems in current studies of nonverbal communication, and recommendations for further study of…

The purpose of the study was to determine whether differences in verbal interaction existed between study teachers and first, second, and third year teachers with preservice instruction in Flanders Interaction Analysis Categories (FIAC) and a comparison group without such instruction. (TIAC is a system of 10 categories which classifies verbal…

This report describes a program for improving listening skills, lack of which interferes with second language acquisition. The targeted population was first- and second-year Spanish students in one middle school and one high school. Intervention over 15 weeks included changes in the classroom environment (desk arrangement, improved lighting,…