Educating youth about the goals of the social/cultural system in which we live is largely the responsibility of teachers. Enthusiastic and dedicated teachers are able to transform the classroom into a place where the values, habits, and patterns of behavior that are a part of this culture are passed on to the future generation. (MD)

Describes learning-teaching styles characteristic of educators and students who flourish in the experiential environment of investigation, process-orientation, experimentation, and stimulation. Explains three other mind-styles and points out how recognizing them can enhance communication, enrich curriculum, and help students and teachers cultivate…

Illustrates how school writing environments that encourage talk between peers can help children learn about writing and the writing process. Describes recurring patterns of language behavior at a kindergarten writing table and shows how children's natural conversations are often reminiscent of adult-child interaction in the home. (HTH)

Describes a program offered to preservice and inservice reading teachers as an alternative to reading methods classes that was structured to reconcile the demands of critical theorists for change with the actualities of classroom life. (FL)

Presents contributors' suggestions concerning (1) creative responses to recreational reading, (2) multisensory approches to spelling, (3) writing assignments for remedial readers, and (4) ways to keep track of students' reading interests. (FL)

This study systematically investigated the effects of different procedures on classroom behaviors ranging from teacher designated seating groups and seating groups based on sociometric data to peer encouragement and free time reinforcers. Subjects were first- and third-grade children. (Author)

Written for the general classroom teacher whose class includes English language learners (ELLs), as well as for ELL teachers working in general classrooms, this book portrays ELL students in grades 3-6 who learn essential reading and writing skills and are full members of the classroom community. Throughout the book, the authors emphasize the…

One teacher researcher recently completed a Ph.D. in education through "practitioner" research; that is, research in her own classroom. This research examined the talk that unfolded between young adolescent students in the course of everyday classroom activities in her English and Pastoral Care classrooms and in the Technology Studies…

The aim of this book is to provide a practical guide to activities that require children to use language in a variety of situations. It is by providing lots of opportunities for speaking and listening that children, hopefully, can develop and extend their language skills. The book is arranged in chapters describing and explaining the activities.…

Transcendent teacher-learner relationships are spontaneously occurring ones in which teacher and learner transcend, or go beyond, their traditional interactive roles; transcendent teacher-learner interaction is mutually reciprocal, liberating, and growth-oriented. This paper discusses data collected from students enrolled in an early childhood…

A college classroom in a southern U.S. university served as the location for a case study on the effects of gender on communication. Of 31 students in the class, only 8 were men. The majority of class time was devoted to discussion; a typical class consisted of a presentation of terms and theories in a text, and an effort to find "real life"…

This study examined how collaborative processes of communication and knowledge construction over time and space are structured and organized utilizing two-way video conferencing strategies for distance education in undergraduate child development courses at two universities. Several qualitative research methodologies were employed to document…

Electronic mail is becoming more and more common in contemporary organizations. Despite the technological sophistication of e-mail, questions remain regarding the value of the innovation for organizations. The assumption that the presence of e-mail, in and of itself, obviates internal communication problems is inaccurate and problematic. This…

This book provides many diverse ideas for creating a learning environment that is alive with discovery and discussion, but peaceful and respectful, too. The book offers activities and practices from classrooms all over the United States that focus on year-long practices that promote a sense of community: 20-minute class meetings, effective…

Despite substantial research on children's literacy performance outside school, relatively few studies have examined the classroom context of writing development, and even fewer have considered the relationship between general classroom discourse and writing. This paper presents an ecological framework for studying the relation between classroom…