Background: The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an early field experience program for undergraduate university students called classroom tutors in this project (CTs). Purpose: This study aims to measure the effects on CTs after their participation in Willing Workers in Classrooms (WWC). A second aim was to begin to develop a…

Research findings: Language development subcontexts within 20 Head Start classrooms were studied by observing teachers' child-directed talk during free play, mealtime, and book reading. In each context, observers coded all child-directed statements, directives, and questions, noted instances of pretend talk and decontextualized talk, and rated the…

In October 1981, an article appeared in "The American Biology Teacher" with the catchy title, "Bio-Bull." In it, author, Dale Carlson, described a powerful form of communication that he employed successfully in his community college classes. Each week students received what he called a "Bio-Bull" that included current biological topics,…

The analysis identified discursive strategies used by general education teachers in inclusion classrooms to orchestrate and scaffold the verbal participation of all students, including students with learning disabilities (LD). The context was writing instruction. A whole-class lesson involving teacher student collaboration to write a text was…

This paper considers ways in which a detailed understanding of classroom discourse can be achieved through the use of reflective practices and professional dialogue. For the teacher, understanding classroom communication, being able to "shape" learner contributions and making strategic decisions in the moment-by-moment unfolding of a lesson are…

This paper describes research that explored the question of whether or not it is possible to characterise and teach a single type of educationally productive talk. We analysed and compared the quality of children's interactional strategies when jointly working on a reasoning task and a psycholinguistic task. The latter involved writing an…

This study investigated the relation of teacher characteristics, including ratings of teacher quality, to classroom instructional variables and to bilingual students' literacy and oral language outcomes at the end of the kindergarten year. Teacher characteristics included observational measures of oral language proficiency, quality, and classroom…

During the past 10 years, a Japanese instructor at an American university has learned to use her cultural background to her advantage. As a graduate student at Bowling Green State University (Ohio), she first perceived her background as an obstacle to her teaching and tried to pretend that she was not different from other faculty. But this mindset…

The views of students with learning and behavior problems about how teachers can help them were investigated. The 40 students had mild disabilities and were in grades kindergarten through grade 12 in resource rooms, content mastery centers, and general education classes. Structured interviews addressed the following questions: What do you enjoy…

A study examined from a feminist poststructuralist perspective the discourses available in a classroom using a critical pedagogy, based on a belief that teaches need to make it possible for their students to question the social world constructed in texts. The teacher of an Australian junior primary classroom (with students age five to eight) took…

Based on research on verbal behavior and the relationship between teachers' verbal responses and student achievement and success, this document discusses the role of teacher language in motivating students and provides examples of classroom techniques that aid learning. The first section reviews ways in which teachers' use of language can…

Using a story-oriented approach, this book describes and discusses real-life issues and conflicts encountered by parents and teachers of young children. Each scenario is followed by practical approaches to solving these problems. Part 1, "Today's Family Patterns and Discipline," addresses the impact family changes can have on children,…

This report focuses on the teaching of English to Aboriginal children in primary schools in Australia. A definition and analysis of dialectal differences between Aboriginal (Australian) English and Standard (Australian) English is offered that includes the phonological, morpho-syntactic, lexico-semantic, and pragmatic differences of the Aboriginal…

A study analyzed the perspectives, as expressed in gestures, of six sixth-grade students in science classes as they either explained in-the-moment or described book-learned or previously thought-out ideas. Student behaviors were analyzed for evidence of three perspectives: (1) outside observer, shown by the observer standing apart from his gesture…

Based on the idea that assessment and evaluation have become major concerns in elementary education, this book offers a solution for involving both children and parents in the processes of evaluation. Arguing for a program known as "negotiated evaluation," the book gives practical suggestions for implementing the program; looks at…