Discussions of power and privilege, oppression, and structural inequities in classrooms can produce complex understanding and critical analysis when facilitated effectively. In this article we present the critical conversations model for facilitating conversations that open up space for discussing such issues and encourage the development of…

We theorize about ambiguity in mathematical communication and define a certain subset of ambiguous language usage as imprecise. For us, imprecision in classroom mathematics discourse hinders in-the-moment communication because the instance of imprecision is likely to create inconsistent interpretations of the same statement among individuals. We…

For students to learn optimally, teachers must design classrooms that are responsive to the full range of student development. The teacher must be adaptive, but so must each student and the learning culture itself. In other words, adaptive teaching means constructing a responsive learning culture that accommodates and even capitalizes on diversity…

We describe and use an analytical framework to document mathematics discourse in instruction (MDI), and interpret differences in mathematics teaching. MDI is characterised by four interacting components in the teaching of a mathematics lesson: exemplification (occurring through a sequence of examples and related tasks), explanatory talk (talk that…

English language arts classrooms are especially rich sites for both explicit and implicit collaborations among those who inhabit those spaces. In these venues, Bakhtinian "heteroglot voices" (Bakhtin 278) saturate the oral and written discourse that students produce as they engage in discussions and as they write in a wide variety of genres,…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has consistently recognized communication as essential to reform-oriented mathematics teaching (NCTM 1991, 2000). In this article, the authors propose a strategic mix of univocal and dialogic discourse that, when used in conjunction with an "inductive model of teaching," can promote…

This article details what happened when, after endless hours of teaching and explaining how literature circles work, the authors were dismayed at how their students still struggled to have positive social interactions during book discussions. Book discussions often deteriorated into tension filled discussions marred by class inequities, bullying,…

Describe a program which encourages content area teachers to change their instructional styles during classroom discussions of textbook readings. Presents an associated five-stage model for linking teacher assessment procedures with professional growth. Notes that at each stage the model highlights what teachers experience and understand about…

Describes techniques which enable high school teachers to use German in their classes as a means of communication and not just as an abstract problem for students to master. Covers using different media techniques, students as teachers, different approaches to the textbook, culture materials, and oral interview tests. (EKN)

Discusses aspects of using anecdotes in the classroom including vividness, the downside, high inferential risks, and low inferential risks. Reviews research underpinnings. (MVL)

Teaching is complex and layered. The premise of this paper is that teaching is worthy of being an object of systematic inquiry, and that such inquiry will help to clarify and potentially improve the character of teaching. It has also been assumed that a useful approach is to differentiate within teaching those aspects which can and usually are…

As a radical supplement to multiculturalism a liberatory pedagogy is needed that explicitly challenges social conditions and ideologies that reproduce inequality. In training new teaching assistants of composition, a teacher used Jane Tompkins'"Pedagogy of the Distressed" to try an experiment in critical pedagogy. In her text, Tompkins…