Examination of specific role of humor in college classroom and its effect on learning and communicative climate highlights academic classroom instruction, objectives of academic bibliographic instruction, positive learning environment and bibliographic instruction classroom, prevalence of humor in college classroom, and how classroom humor affects…

This Knowledge Essentials book shows parents how to enrich their child's first classroom experience and take an active role in preschool education. This book includes advice and offers information about: (1) What a child is learning at school and the educational standards to expect in preschool-level reading and writing readiness, math, science,…

This study investigates middle school mathematics students' views and interpretations of graphical representations as they use graphs to answer algebraic questions--specifically, questions that require them to extrapolate information from graphs. From data gathered in videotaped interviews, students' verbal responses were analyzed as well as any…

This digest provides an overview of the auditory-oral approach used for developing communication skills in children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The approach is based on the fundamental premise that acquiring competence in spoken language is a realistic goal for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and is best developed in an environment…

Reports a study of nonverbal communication in which 77 female student teachers of physical education were observed during teaching practice to identify any patterns of communicative acts, the balance of verbal and nonverbal components, and whether the patterns are related to pupil responsiveness. Cluster and factor analysis are used. (EAO)

Describes an exploratory study that attempted to discover the patterns of linguistic interaction of second language learners in a computerized literary reading environment and the implication of using computer books in an ESL (English-as-a-Second-Language) elementary school classroom. (LRW)

This study investigated the verbal interactions of fifth grade students within groups when using simulation and word processing software. Students were grouped according to ability, and conversations were analyzed, which found the largest proportion of student talk was cognitively oriented, predominantly in directing and reporting language; group…

Examines sociolinguistic codes and social relations in daycare settings populated by children of four different social classes. Observations suggest that particular forms of social relations and attendant social control mechanisms do not have a one-to-one correspondence with particular sociolinguistic codes. Discusses links between gender…

Examined elementary school teachers' (n=137) endorsement of behavior management techniques and extent practices were reportedly used. Results indicated that more teachers reported using management techniques to control inappropriate social than academic behavior and more teachers endorsed verbal management techniques than concrete techniques.…

Provides a brief sketch of key historical and political conditions that led to the 1973 protests at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, by Native Americans. Demonstrates how the discursive strategies of the protestors both reflect the influence of context and reveal the significance of rhetoric's role in revitalizing culture. Considers implications for…

Investigates how children represent meaning in their response to stories through listening, speaking, reading, drawing, and writing. Finds no one particular language process to be exclusively used by children to convey meaning in response to story. Discovers sequential and simultaneous linkage patterns of language process modality. (KEH)

A relatively context-free method of assessing teacher behavior was tested on nine preschool teachers, five elementary school teachers, and seven remedial teachers in Israel. The context is removed via use of extremely brief (10-second) video clips of teacher behavior, separated into verbal and non-verbal channels. (TJH)

Demonstrates a technique where, by taking on the disguise of one who is completely ignorant of a mathematical topic or by using incorrect examples, students can be challenged to reflect on their thinking and to be very precise about their language. (MKR)

The Foreign Language Understanding Engendered by Naturalistic Techniques (Fluent) project is an educational system for beginning foreign language learning. Arguments are made in support of Fluent's scientific and practical potential for a situation-based, two-medium conversational environment that refers to pedagogical and second-language…

Study investigated teacher preferences for certain modes of helping students (enactive attainment, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and anxiety reduction). Preservice and inservice teachers read six scenarios of students with learning difficulties and ranked helping responses. Overall, they preferred verbal persuasion; they tended to…