A study involving 240 faculty and 119 instructional academic staff found that specific-disability support services were perceived of as being at least somewhat important, formal verification of disability was found to be more important for students with learning and psychiatric disabilities, and direct communication was considered most important…

Two interventions (environmental modification and adult prompting) were evaluated for promoting conversations between three preschoolers with and six without disabilities. Three conditions were used: classroom baseline, theme boxes, and system of least prompts. Use of the system of least prompts produced increases in rates of conversation, turns…

This reprint of an article from 1909 responds to a study that found the oral method was not effective in teaching speech to students with deafness. It charges that the investigation was unscientific and driven by economic influences. (CR)

Compared the rational quality of fourth-graders' discussion of literary texts with an ideal model and over the course of the academic year. Analyzed the collaborative reasoning capabilities of 6 three-student groups using a graphical coding system with an analysis of the literary content of the students' argumentation. Identified important…

Explains why high-level verbal interaction is the key to learning in collaborative groups. Discusses influences on high-level verbal interaction in collaborative groups, including prior achievement, friendships, and status and expectations. Notes ways that teachers can train students in high-level verbal interactions. (SR)

Details a study that focused on assessing changes in attitudes during and after a practical course in doctor-patient communication within a biomedically oriented curriculum. Results indicate that female students are more patient. Contains 49 references. (DDR)

Considers aspects of teachers' communication and their effect on clarity. Finds that clarity was positively correlated with the instructor's perceived nonverbal immediacy and sociocommunicative style, and with enhanced student affect toward the instructor and course. Argues that teachers need to be clear in their oral and written communication to…

Discusses the importance of public speech in society, noting the power of public speech to create a world and a public. The paper offers a theory of public speech, identifies types of public speech, and types of public speech fallacies. Two ways of speaking of the public and of public life are distinguished. (SM)

Qualitative analysis of videotape recordings of seven mothers and their sons with autism (ages 2 and 3) found that mothers mostly engaged in verbal regard (conversation) and directive behaviors. Sons were able to give some form of regard 69% of the time, mostly in the form of active task participation rather than verbal or visual regard.…

Analyzes the traditional role of students in mathematics classes, challenging the idea that students simply listen to their instructors and learn to solve problems. Suggests that math students should also be able to communicate verbally their understanding of mathematical problems. (Contains 68 references.) (NB)

Summarizes content analyses of verbatim transcripts of secondary chemistry lessons. Finds that the use of words with a metacognitive and metalinguistic function was generally limited in extent and simple and colloquial in expression and that the language of the enacted curriculum did not match the terminology of the official curriculum document.…

Investigates the relations among consultant and consultee verbalizations and behavioral consultation treatment outcomes. The study consisted of analyses of a database generated from three behavioral consultation training grants which included 25 graduate student consultants, 26 teacher consultees, and 102 children with emotional disabilities…

A study of 41 Puerto Rican and African American preschoolers found they used three strategies to obtain objects from peers: movement toward objects, verbal intentions with movements toward objects, and verbal intentions. Students were most successful when they combined physical movement toward an object with a request, statement, or claim.…

Focuses on the way multimedia developments are challenging established literacy practices and skills. Suggests that the traditional dominance of verbal representation is progressively giving way to new visual forms, and that the relationships between the verbal and the visual are being negotiated. Implications for English-as-a-Second-Language…

Eight school-aged boys with learning disabilities (LD) with a discrepancy between verbal and performance IQ and with more language difficulties were less successful on a mother/child problem-solving task. Their mothers exhibited lower communication clarity in their instructions to the children than the mothers of the eight boys with LD who did not…