A pilot study was conducted as part of a larger sociological investigation of small group interaction. Specifically, the study dealt with communication in three first-grade advanced reading groups, each composed of 15 children, and focused on two types of requests: those for action and those for information. Student interactions were audio- and…

Methods used in studies of the classroom language of the English teacher are described in this paper and some results of the research are reported. The paper first describes three methods traditionally employed in the description of the language of the English classroom--live observation systems, coding systems based on transcripts, and…

This paper addresses the issue of how learning in classrooms takes place. The effects of different curriculum and different teaching methods in knowledge acquisition is examined, both as main effects and in interaction with student attitudes. The role of the teacher in communicating the knowledge to be acquired is described. Teachers are viewed as…

THE AUTHOR CHARACTERIZES THIS BULLETIN AS A MESSAGE ON LANGUAGE. THE MESSAGE IS FACILITATED BY (1) A FLUID AND IMAGINATIVE USE OF TYPESETTING, (2) A NARRATIVE-FORM STORY, AND (3) A STORY-PLOT THAT INVOLVES SEVERAL LANGUAGE PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS. ALTHOUGH THE STORY COMPRISES THE ENTIRE BULLETIN, THE PURPOSE OF THE BULLETIN IS NOT JUST TO TELL A…

This master's thesis investigates the evaluative instruments currently available for measuring nonverbal behaviors in the classroom. Chapters discuss the following topics: classroom nonverbal communication, major and minor evaluative instruments, problems in current studies of nonverbal communication, and recommendations for further study of…

Teachers of young children affect not only their ability to speak correctly but also the way they learn to think. Since children view the world in different ways depending on cultural heritage as well as individual perception, and since different experiences require differing ways of thinking and differing ways of expression, it is important for…

This paper argues that traditional techniques of content analysis which have been applied to classroom verbal interaction studies fail to account for certain types of implicit information, and presents a technique, called "reconstruction," that provides for the inclusion of such information in a content analysis. It is argued that if…

The focus of this bibliography is on the use of variations of Standard English--often called "Nonstandard Dialects"--both in and out of the classroom. Black English, often thought to be synonymous with "nonstandard dialect" because of recent attention called to it, is the best known of the nonstandard dialects, although there are various regional…

This book is intended for both beginning and experienced teachers who face many difficult challenges in today's desegregated school. Teachers must come to feel and recognize the many contingencies of the desegregated classroom if it is to be a place for learning. Because social class segregates children as often as does race, the major question…

Video- and sound-tape recordings of 96 lessons in one Finnish school were analyzed using the Bellack Classification System. The lessons were composed of Finnish, arithmetic, civics, drawing, religion, and music for Grades 3 and 4. During the coding process, it was found that the Bellack system was not very suitable for describing instruction at…

Instruments, not previously reported in the literature, for observational techniques that can be used in early childhood classrooms are described. Excluded are those instruments which the Research for Better Schools, Inc., a regional laboratory, will report. Section I of this report is an introduction to observational procedures and especially to…

A case for the use of simulation in speech education is built, and the teacher is encouraged to experiment with this strategy in various learning environments. The simulation model is described in the Planning Stage, the Developing Stage, the Implementing Stage, and the Evaluating Stage. It is concluded that as a teaching strategy, simulation…

The emphasis in this paper is on developing teacher awareness of how nonverbal communication fits into the classroom setting. Various positive and negative aspects of this phase of communication in the classroom are explored. A classroom teacher is observed closely by students every day, and her/his attitude, feelings, mood or state of mind,…

Four combinations of teacher verbal and nonverbal evaluative behavior were studied within a controlled microlesson. Two male and two female teachers presented each of the four combinations--(a) verbally and nonverbally positive; (b) verbally positive and nonverbally negative; (c) verbally negative and nonverbally positive; or (d) verbally and…

Examines the instructional communication behavior and perspectives of two elementary school teachers in the gifted classroom. Describes and analyzes communication patterns and compares the two cases. (NKA)