The forms, functions, and targets of the spontaneous communication of 30 children (age 4-13) with autism were observed during school activities. Communication patterns varied by cognitive level and autism severity, but the prototypical communicative event involved a child directing a motoric form of communication toward the teacher to request…

Explores power relationships between teacher and participants in an inservice course as the tutor attempts to shift responsibility away from a teacher and toward the learners. Sees episodes of silence during the reflective discussions as particularly significant in the dynamic and changing awareness. Uses fictional writing to express feelings,…

This study examined the correspondence between spoken English and Australasian Signed English when used simultaneously by four teachers of deaf Australian students. The teachers were more than 90 percent accurate in reproducing on their hands what they were saying but at some cost to the oral aspects of the simultaneous communication. (Author/JDD)

Four hearing-impaired children (ages 9-11) with learning problems answered questions focused on picture description. The children understood question words but answered the questions incorrectly 75 percent of the time. The children had difficulty determining the topic of discourse, were confused by the sequence in classroom discourse, and relied…

Identifies the weaknesses of traditional methods of assessing course success and illustrates, through a case study, how a more elaborate system of course evaluation through needs analysis was carried out at the University of Brunei Darussalam. (11 references) (GLR)

Encourages teachers to allow students to engage in conversation and discuss what they do and do not understand. Discusses different types of questions found in classroom instruction: factual questions, reasoning questions, and open questions. To promote communication, teachers must change their beliefs about instruction. (PDD)

Investigates communication in a coeducational, undergraduate calculus class in order to develop an understanding of students' experiences at this stage in the science pipeline. Focuses on the filtering of females from the science pipeline. Contains 33 references. (DDR)

Describes a multicultural inclusive preschool program in which children with and without disabilities communicate by using English, Spanish, and sign language. How students were taught a cross-cultural language lesson by making tostadas during International Foods Week is reviewed. Lists additional lessons with language-based and cultural themes.…

With its focus on language teaching and learning processes, French immersion research of the 1900s deals with a number of issues of significance to teachers. These include the following: early development of strategic competence, the role of the first language, problematic language features, and learning needs. Field studies of classroom…

Reflects on the articles in this themed issue. Discusses three recurring ideas: the need for devoting time to read, time to talk, and time to write; the organic nature of talk about writing craft; and the importance of teachers writing with their students, reading with their students, and making plenty of time to talk together. (SR)

Presents conversations from series of lessons in which the power of mathematical conversations was epitomized and fourth-grade students were encouraged to make conjectures to their classmates. Describes how each conversation offered insights into the ways in which students had constructed mathematics. (ASK)

Examined a classroom in which fourth graders' questions dominated the discourse, investigating how the teacher reduced forces that discourage student questions in instruction. Observation and interview data indicated that the teacher respected her students as well-intentioned learners, viewed the assumptions revealed by student questions as steps…

Examines one teacher's learning and implementing instructional conversations. Finds that students gave longer responses, initiated conversation, and participated in responsive conversation in which they contributed to, challenged, and extended each others' statements. Discusses implications for teachers' professional development. (SC)

Explores how teachers can support English-language learners in learning mathematics. Uses discourse perspective to analyze participation in mathematical discussions. Examines a lesson from a third-grade mathematics discussion of the geometric shapes of a tangram puzzle. Contains 20 references. (ASK)

The Zhu model for analyzing computer mediated communications was further developed by an Athabasca University (Alberta) distance education research team based on ease of use, reliability, validity, theoretical support, and cross-discipline utility. Five classification categories of the new model are vertical questioning, horizontal questioning,…