Teachers play a vital role in the classroom environment. Interaction between teacher and students is an essential part of the teaching/learning process. An educator, Flanders originally developed an instrument called Flanders Interaction Analysis (FIA). The FIA system was designed to categorize the types, quantity of verbal interaction and direct…

This study found that professors (n=76) ask on average about 25 questions each class hour, the majority of which are higher-level questions. They pause about 2.25 seconds after questions and 0.45 seconds after student responses. Professors teaching education classes differed little from professors teaching noneducation classes. (Author/DB)

Former candidate for U.S. Assistant Attorney General Lani Guinier is attempting to make law school and the legal profession more welcoming to women, in part by rejecting use of the Socratic method in classroom discussion, which she feels is intimidating, combative, and discriminates against women. Others say the Socratic approach encourages men…

Techniques for observing the classroom behavior of teachers and students are examined. These techniques provide a framework for analyzing and understanding classroom interaction, for making decisions about what should be happening, and for changing instructional behavior when it is necessary. The observation methods allow collection, analysis, and…

Limitations of past research on college teaching and a recent exploratory study are considered. The study focused on the degree to which teachers encourage, praise, or use student ideas; the degree to which teachers ask questions that encourage evaluative and divergent thinking; the degree to which students make higher levels of cognitive…