This article reports on the qualitative findings of a mixed methods study that investigated primary school teachers' beliefs, practices and choices of resources for teaching written grammar. Qualitative data were collected from Primary teachers in Western Australia through semi-structured interviews (n = 10) and analysed thematically. Although all…

This article presents a theoretical consideration of the nature of classroom talk. It argues that traditional methods of instruction do not provide the conditions necessary to encourage pupils to think critically, and that a major reason for this is inappropriate discourse in schools. (JL)

This paper analyses data from a curriculum intervention project designed to introduce new forms of discussion, seen as educationally effective, into the primary classroom. While the introduction of talk as an aid to learning is premised on a social approach to learning, such interventions are often evaluated in terms of cognitive benefits and…

States that educators should be concerned to involve all students in collaborative talk about tasks that are student-owned and inquiry-oriented and which integrate talking with thinking, doing, reading, and writing to engage with topics and texts that both students and teachers find meaningful and significant. (MG)

Analyzes two examples of classroom discourse between a teacher and a small group of students in English primary schools. Both transcripts are extracts from discussions that took place during guided reading sessions. Drawing on concepts from the work of the Bakhtin Circle, argues that one of the sequences exemplifies "pedagogical…

Reports on the writing performance of Saint Lucian schoolchildren with particular reference to possible dialect interference in written speech. The study focuses on characteristic errors in the writing as well as the causes and significance of these errors and explores the available remedies. (21 references) (Author/CK)

Reports on a study of the implementation of a structuralist approach to teaching text in elementary school classrooms in Australia. Examines the pedagogic practice of one teacher, highlighting the impact of a restrictive and reductive approach to text on her teaching methodology. (Author/VWL)

As part of a national policy to increase access to modern foreign/ second languages at the elementary level, voluntary generalist elementary teachers with some proficiency in relevant languages were provided intensive professional development in language teaching methodology with a view to heir implementing the policy in their schools. Presents…

Proposes an approach to teaching reasoning through classroom conversation that integrates group work around computers into curriculum-related activities. The article examines research on collaborative learning and describes a program in which the computer is used to direct children's explicit, joint reasoning in curriculum-related activities. (79…

Presents a breakthrough in the transition from the process of the expatriate-centered approach towards the development of indigenous education in Papua New Guinea. The indigenous people were encouraged to take an active role in establishment of their vernacular elementary school. They were able to syncretize Western values and indigenous values…