A brief review of innovative approaches to the teaching of foreign languages during the 1960's is presented in this report. The potential use of media in current programs is emphasized in a discussion of: (1) creative application of technology in the solution of instructional problems, (2) television and related media, (3) observation via…

This paper traces the development of a function-based module, TELEFUN, produced to teach telephone English to Francophone public servants in Canada. Telephone discourse is analyzed, and a number of techniques, including Function Frames and Function Dials, are described. (CFM)

Contrasts teacher-student interactions in typical teacher-fronted second language classrooms with the organization of talk across a variety of alternate educational participant structures--a teacher-student conference, small group work, the making of a class video, and a problem-solving interaction in a computer lab--that deviate from the…

This two-volume set offers 16 narrative case studies and a facilitator's guide. Cases were written by teachers about their personal experiences with teaching and groupwork, especially the problematic situations and dilemmas they faced. Groupwork is a well-documented and highly recommended strategy for enhancing students' academic, cognitive,…

This study examined the effects of an interactive approach called instructional conversations (IC) on the language and concept development of Hispanic students categorized as learning handicapped, by comparing traditional instruction (basal reading approach) with instructional conversations. Lessons were conducted with five limited English…

A study investigated and compared the instructional behaviors, class content, and class organization of kindergarten and first grade movement educators and traditional physical education teachers. Literature on this topic suggests that movement educators focus on indirect teaching methods, nontraditional classroom settings, student involvement,…

In this photo essay, I examine the social contexts of literacy development through an exploration of a unique organization called "The Dog Project." In this descriptive narrative, I document the ways children's interactions with their peers, the instructors, and the dogs in the project fostered their sense of self-efficacy, their…

In the "Learning and Teaching" course at the University of Waikato (New Zealand) College of Teacher Education, explorations are being conducted into the advantages of training student teachers to work, on a more genuinely collegial basis, with the college's cooperating teachers. The assumptions and objectives of the course focus on…

This report discusses the question of the appropriateness of teacher behaviors in relation to both the counting of frequencies of teacher behaviors and the interpretation of the impact of teacher behaviors on student learning. The recent focus, in research on teaching, on the counting of teacher behaviors gives rise to a concern for the meaning as…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 13 titles deal with the following topics: the North American Indian in theatre and drama, the lyrical novel, factors affecting the appreciation of suspenseful dramatic presentations, syntactic analysis and the performance of…

An exploration of Project Transition, an outgrowth of the University Without Walls program for adult learners, is presented. The development on nontraditional educational thinking is recounted from a personal standpoint, including the realization that return to education in mid-life often signaled a larger decision to reshape personal identity,…

This study sought to determine whether an in-service program would produce changes in teacher attitudes and in teacher-student verbal interaction in the classroom and whether the amount and direction of this change could be significantly measured. During an 8-week in-service program, an experimental group of 10 English and 10 mathematics teachers…

In a comprehensive junior and senior high school featuring the "open education" approach school officials invited the authors to develop a plan to provide inservice training to teachers using the Spaulding System of Classroom Behavioral Analysis. Data for this study were gathered on 57 students in three groups: (1) those whose teachers…

This report describes initial steps taken in a research project aimed at gaining insight into the nature of effective foreign language teaching. Two systems for observing and describing classroom behavior of teachers and students were developed in this experiment. These systems were used to observe university-level French classes. Data collected…

Discovery of which learner characteristics or aptitudes interact with different methods of instruction is the objective of this research study. A model is used to match the cognitive, motivational, value, and sensory orientations of the student with forms of presentation considered compatible with characteristics of the learner. Description of the…