Analysis of postobservation conferences between 20 pairs of teachers and supervisors revealed four major micropolitical strategies used by participants to influence conference interaction. Two strategies--reflecting personal orientation and conversational congruence--prevailed in conferences rated positively by participants, whereas supervisor use…

This article introduces secondary and college economics teachers to the technique known as interaction analysis. The Flanders system of analyzing language in the classroom and techniques for applying interaction analysis in economics courses are discussed. For journal availability see SO 504 499. (Author/RM)

The introduction to this special issue on interactive assessment and special needs children draws a distinction between the term "interactive assessment" and the more limited "dynamic assessment," and comments that the six papers comprising this issue focus on dynamic assessment, in which there is actual teaching of cognitive…

Indepth studies of micropolitics at the school level are presented in this book, which includes nine qualitative studies of school politics conducted by different researchers. Chapters 2 through 10 examine the formal and informal processes and structures that constitute everyday political life in the schools. The studies explore how individuals…

In a two-stage procedure to discover how children use television commercials in family group viewing situations, researchers first conducted thirty family interviews with as many family members present as possible; then they selected nine children's families for extended (three month) participant observation to study the formative aspects of each…

This article introduces this special issue on natural processes involved in spontaneous interactions between children with language disorders and their caretakers. It describes the use of the Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES) to study developmental language disabilities by analyzing phonological, morphosyntactic, lexical,…

Findings of a study that explored the micropolitical elements inherent in interactions between either prospective or practicing supervisors and teachers in successful instructional conferences are presented in this paper. Micropolitics refers to the use of formal and informal power by individuals and groups to achieve their organizational goals.…

A study examined developmental trends in the quality and outcomes of disagreements occurring in the conversation of small groups of acquainted peers. Specifically, the study focused on the relationship of disagreeing and arguing sequences to the general level of topical coherence achieved in the conversation as a whole. Five discussion groups,…

Disciplinary didactics describes and designs the actualized/virtual learning and teaching relationships among disciplinary content, learner(s), and teacher. This article adopts a semiotic perspective to outline eight shared features of the various disciplinary didactics. The goal is to situate them within an integrated vision that helps shape a…

A study examined age differences in the use of interaction management strategies. Students (13 seventh-graders and 24 eleventh-graders) were asked to describe how to play a game to a peer. Each speaker then became a listener in the next dyad. A tally was kept of speaker and listener use of six categories of feedback, and the quality of that…

The Involvement Instrument, an observational technique for examining children's interaction patterns and degree of involvement within the school setting, is presented in this paper. Training protocols for obtaining skill in using the Involvement Instrument, methods of analyzing data obtained by using the instrument, and criteria for determining…

This master's thesis investigates the evaluative instruments currently available for measuring nonverbal behaviors in the classroom. Chapters discuss the following topics: classroom nonverbal communication, major and minor evaluative instruments, problems in current studies of nonverbal communication, and recommendations for further study of…

The old-fashioned focus on individuals as separate from their surroundings is no longer tenable. The papers in this edited volume are informed by the Group Relations model which was designed to help those providing services to children and adolescents to evaluate treatment programs and to make needed improvements. The chapters describe how a…

This paper discusses the different levels of decision-making regarding media selection and technology use in distance education, and suggests a set of criteria and procedures that are practical yet rigorous. Interactivity is one of the main criteria proposed, and the value and meaning of interaction and interactivity in a distance education…

In this chapter, a path to learning about individuals interacting with settings is proposed. Settings may be places where individuals work, live, care, become committed, or engage in any type of living. The path consists of observational and reflective techniques that may be fruitfully used by educators or any persons interested in enhancing the…