The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explain how the Common Core State Standards may have influenced teachers' practices and philosophies regarding literacy instruction. Conducted in five kindergarten through second-grade classrooms within one elementary school, this research study collected semi-structured interviews, classroom…

The question of whether teachers' beliefs match their educational philosophies and are seen in their practice is an important area of research inquiry. Using a mixed methods design, this research study investigated whether there was such a match between a teacher's educational philosophy and his/her use of classroom physical space and layout. The…

The focus of research into the use of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) in the classroom has been largely in relation to teacher-pupil interaction, with very little consideration of its possible use as a tool for pupils' collaborative endeavour. This paper is based upon an ESRC-funded project, which considers how pupils use the interactive…

This paper is about examining life in classrooms. Authentic recording and interpretation of the complexities of classroom life have long been both fascinating and challenging for researchers. Typically, such research has been expensive, time-consuming and susceptible to claims that its intrusiveness pollutes the authenticity of the very context…

We adopted the method of classroom observation and carried out research on five elementary school teachers in western China's rural areas who have shown enormous transformation after receiving training on participatory teaching to investigate the strengths and weaknesses in teachers' practice of participatory teaching. Results indicate that (a)…

Pullout programs are breaking up the self-contained class in elementary schools. A study in New York State disclosed that 94 percent of the teachers surveyed have students involved in remedial pullout programs and 57 percent have students in enrichment pullout programs. Frequent use of pullout programs can have negative effects. (MLF)

Using primarily online interaction, we worked with a grade one teacher to help her develop an understanding of community in her own classroom. Using an interpretive interactionist methodology, we theorized four domains in her view of classroom community: trust, membership, power, and capacity. The teacher's perceived success in creating community…

APPLE is a naturalistic observation system that can describe pupil and teacher behaviors and identify those behaviors that are significantly related to learning for a particular grade or instructional area. (MM)

This paper maintains that learning for the purpose of understanding is central to classes that are oriented towards learning. Such classes, which can be said to have a "learning orientation," can be differentiated from classes where an emphasis on performance or doing work increases the likelihood of rote or short-term learning. Four…

Draws a distinction between language in the classroom and language of the classroom to illustrate the ways in which situated definitions of language, text, and academic practices were established by a seventh-grade English teacher and her students through their oral and written discourse practices. (MDM)

This study used a systems perspective to determine whether differences exist between classrooms of expert (n=35) and novice (n=35) teachers on the cohesion, communication, and flexibility dimensions of the Classroom Systems Observation Scale (CSOS). A 50-minute observation using the CSOS was conducted in elementary school classrooms in New York…

Within the context of the student teaching experience, a vast body of research examines the role played by cooperating teachers and the benefits gained by student teachers. However, few studies have explored the intrinsic benefits of having student teachers to cooperating teachers and the students in their classrooms. This study, which included a…

This report argues for and illustrates an approach to the study of writing in school settings that integrates ethnographic analysis of classroom interaction with linguistic analysis of written texts and teacher/student conversational exchanges. The report explores the relationships among classroom contexts, computer-based innovations, writing…

This study reports on work activities structures, student social cognitive understanding, and student participation as ecological perspectives from which to describe and analyze the teaching that took place in one elementary school. Detailed descriptions of the ecological features of 10 elementary school classrooms are presented, and an…

A study explored the changing role of the elementary teacher within the context of book discussions as teachers move from basal instruction to literature-based reading instruction. As part of an earlier study, two upper-grade teachers consistently expressed concern during interviews and group discussions with their colleagues about how to foster…