Explains how access to the World Wide Web can change approaches to teaching German composition and conversation. Reflects upon past practices in teaching German, describes an actual college course, and places the use of the new media in the general context of humanistic endeavors. (SM)

Examines the narrative and propositional approaches to teaching about tolerance in relation to moral and political controversial issues. Indicates that students gave the teacher higher approval ratings, perceived the teacher as more attractive, and remembered more when the teacher used the narrative approach to explain conflicting positions on an…

Presents a lesson plan based on the instructional practice of "Academic Controversy.""Academic Controversy" involves using student research and classroom debate to decide issues with clearly defined positions. Uses a civil rights case as source material and includes lesson procedures and a student handout. (MJP)

Presents descriptions and examples of processes used by French-as-a-Second-Language instructors to teach vocabulary, reporting qualitative analyses of classroom transcripts and pedagogical materials used to teach. Teachers emphasized semantic aspects of lexis; lexical instruction in analytic and experiential classes was characterized by similar…

The British Cultural Studies program at the University of Warwick emphasizes the cultural diversity of Britain. Content includes mythical, cultural, and gender discourses about Britain as they function in economic and political forms; the nexus of economy and culture; and national identities (e.g., Shakespeare). Some course material is appended.…

This paper shows how the opportunity to encounter the other culture "in my backyard" (IMBY) can be used in landeskunde. This approach moves away from landeskunde as piecemeal factual background information toward developing own-culture and foreign/target culture awareness in mixed groups of native language students. (Contains 15…

Reports on an INSET course for the staff of an international school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The article argues that all teachers involved in the support of English-as-a-Second-Language learners can best communicate with each other and facilitate their students' learning through the medium of "common codes," which are defined and…

Notes that there is a rich literature within social studies education promoting the teaching of controversial issues. Observes that, despite this, teachers continue to be cautious, only giving controversies a token nod in curricula. Suggests four reasons why controversial content continues to be difficult for teachers to implement. (DSK)

Provides historical information on Harold Rugg and the Social Reconstructionist movement. Contends the social issues-centered method should be used within social studies education. Discusses a social issues model that exposes preservice teachers to the social issues-centered model and focuses on a case study on California Proposition 187. (CMK)

Research has documented that collaborative learning groups improve student learning and increase the likelihood that students will have positive attitudes about both the subject matter and their peers. However, researchers know much less about how collaborative learning groups may influence student behavior and the extent to which their utility…

Quantitative analyses using CLASS 3.0 software and qualitative discourse analyses were conducted of the instructional and institutional effects of tracking in high-and low-track American literature classes taught by the same teacher, a participant in a national study of the effects of dialogic classroom discourse patterns on student achievement.…

Worldwide, electronic learning (E-learning) has become an important part of the education agenda in the last decade. The Suan Dusit Rajabhat University (SDRU), Thailand has made significant efforts recently to use Internet technologies to enhance learning opportunities. The results reported here are part of a pioneering study to determine the…

This study examined the teaching of controversial public issues (CPI) in middle and high school social studies classes. I sought to better understand the instruction and conceptions undergirding the instruction of secondary social studies teachers who were nominated by discussion experts as especially skillful at teaching their students to…

Given the varied backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives among students and faculty in management education and organizational studies programs, often teachable moments present themselves around differing perceptions. Seizing these moments to talk about difficult, controversial issues--or undiscussables--can catalyze and deepen learning. This…

Most practitioners teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) will agree that students come with some expectations about course content and teaching methodology and that these expectations play a vital role in student motivation and learning. However, the study of student expectations has been a surprising omission from Second…