Teachers have many methods available to them for instructing students. This article presents a teacher's perspective on conducting a discussion with a group of children who were gifted and talented. I studied one teacher using participant observation and ethnographic interviewing as he taught in a special program. I used the concept of…

The patterns of thought and behavior used by a teacher as he "created" a discussion with a group of gifted/talented children were examined. A cognitive map illustrates the techniques used to further the discussion. The teacher's use of professional practical knowledge (knowledge about teaching that was gained from experience) is…

This essay on a paper (EC 602 982) about a master teacher's cognitive processes involved in leading group discussions focuses on the place for qualitative inquiry on teaching in special education, the usefulness of professional practical knowledge and cognitive maps as heuristics for further research, and the relationship between researcher and…