For seventh-grade mathematics students lesson discontinuity and teacher vagueness terms significantly affected student achievement, and the interaction between continuity and vagueness was significant. Vagueness terms significantly affected student perception of lesson effectiveness. (Author/CP)

Urban education is working and will continue to work if budgetary problems are resolved. Urban schools can and will succeed if less emphasis is put on negative issues, such as crime. (CJ)

Describes a study conducted to assess the correlation between the end-of-course grades of 300 students at three colleges and (1) measured differences between the preferred learning style of the student and the preferred instructional style of the teacher and (2) end-of-course student ratings of instruction. (JP)

Evaluating extension educator performance is difficult due to the nature of extension education, the variety of educational methods and clientele, and the broad subject matter taught. Some approaches to performance evaluation are classroom visitation, self-appraisal, plan of work review, "student" input, group sampling, and peer evaluation. (MF)

Dynamic aspects of maternal language instruction and first language learning were explored by observing one- to five-year-old middle-class children with their mothers. (CM)

"Thinking while teaching" was explored in a case study of teaching styles at an elementary school. Data were collected by stimulated recall interviews, classroom observation, and pupil sort tasks. The data suggested a high correlation between teachers' observable behavior and cognitive processes. (Author/JKS)

Examines the use of humor by college teachers in the classroom, assesses the frequency with which humor is employed, and characterizes the type of humor used. Several patterns of humor usage are presented. (JMF)

Defining students' different styles of learning and their study patterns enables a teacher to guide them into using their own methods effectively; this is particularly important in teaching inner-city students. (JD)

Neville Bennett's "Teaching Styles and Pupil Progress" has attracted widespread attention for its major conclusion that formal teaching styles foster greater pupil progress than more informal ones. Examines the adequacy of the research on which this claim is based. (Author/RK)

Relates the experience of a communication professional with 18 years experience who began teaching a basic course in news writing for college students. Advocates coaching methods for teaching writing, rather than lectures and paper grading. (PA)

Reports on an experience teaching online internationally, between a lecturer at the University of Georgia and library science students at the University of Botswana, using an auto-ethnographic method to discuss classroom teaching experiences in Botswana and how they influenced course design, teaching style, and desired student learning…

A 1996 senior class valedictorian shares her views about teacher effectiveness and ineffectiveness, based on observations of teacher behaviors and teacher-student interactions in various classes. The good teacher tells students what is out there to learn, shows an enthusiasm for acquiring knowledge for understanding, and inspires them to learn…

Introduces a new model for analyzing teachers' conversations in computer-mediate communication (CMC) based on information from Bakhtin (1981), Freire (1993), social identity theory, psychological capital, cultural consciousness, and CMC theoretical frameworks. Considers CMC and human-computer interaction (HCI) to address cultural differences that…

Examines the emerging concept of teacher as leader in the classroom, and offers a useful framework for practice. Finds that to exercise situational leadership in the classroom, teachers vary supportive behavior and directive behavior in response to four levels of student task development: telling, consulting, participating, and delegating. (SD)

Presents an interview with Michael Lile, a high school art teacher and artist. Focuses on his background in art, career as a teacher, approach to teaching, and techniques for finding time for his art in his personal life. (CMK)