This study investigated the seating patterns of target students in science classrooms to see if there was an action zone or t-zone present. Fifty-six physical science and chemistry classes were observed using the Brophy-Good Teacher-Child Dyadic Observation System. Target students were identified and their interactions were compared to non-target…

A study analyzed and compared the classroom interactional strategies of two teachers of Catalan immersion classes and one teacher of Spanish as a native language in Spain at the kindergarten level. The theoretical framework guiding the study is based on analysis of the native-speaker/non-native-speaker distinction. Two comparisons were made: (1)…

Noting that collaboration can enhance children's ability to solve problems of increasing difficulty, this paper discusses the theory of collaborative talk in the classroom and how it can be applied. The first section of the paper introduces the notion of collaborative talk by describing a classroom setting and offering an excerpt of two children…

Based on a humanistic approach and on national effective schooling research findings translated into practices that were tested in actual school settings, the monograph provides elementary teachers of Indian students with techniques and information on how to deal effectively with specific situations common to Indian education. In a "how…

Noting that many of the functions undertaken by classroom teachers involve communication skills or skills dependent on an ability to communicate effectively, this paper outlines a course in speech communication specifically for teachers. The paper first lists the teaching, managing, and decision making activities teachers undertake that involve…

Results of an ethnographic study indicate that one elementary school teacher's management plan reflects interaction between teaching goals, strategies which are hierarchically arranged, and the selection criteria she considers relevant. Selection criteria include teacher beliefs about the student's personality, the student's level of required…

This module, prepared by the Minnesota State Department of Education in conjunction with its school effectiveness program, addresses the concept of teacher expectations. The first section delineates the feedback process involved in teacher expectations and lists nonacademic factors that can adversely influence a teacher's academic expectations for…

The 13 articles collected in this volume address various aspects of verbal and nonverbal communication in the educational setting. Among the subjects discussed are research in verbal and nonverbal communication, sex differences and social-class differences in teacher/student communication behavior, communication processes in adult basic education…

Concentration on the formal features of language and on developing speaking skills in a second language fails to provide the language student with the necessary level of conversational ability. The concept of communicative competence has resulted in a new emphasis on the nature of interaction and the rules of discourse. Interest has shifted from…

This is the first of two related documents reporting a study that analyzed the text of 26 student-teacher dialogue journals from a sixth grade class as a developmental link between students' natural competence in oral conversation and their developing competence in written language. The first section of the report discusses (1) the purpose of the…

The assumption that question-answer sequences consist of two moves was examined using data from recordings of second-grade classrooms in Austin, Texas. Interactions initiated by children's spontaneous questions in informal, small group settings were evaluated. Twenty-nine dialogue samples are presented and analyzed. Four issues in the study of…

The first year of a three-year longitudinal study of the English language development of 175 French-speaking elementary and secondary school students in Quebec, Canada, is described. The major study goals are: to obtain precise longitudinal information on ESL development; to describe aspects of classroom interaction, including language used by the…

This paper discusses the problems involved in educating black children, particularly black migrant children. The characteristics of black families that influence their children's use of language and classroom behaviors are described. Interaction between black students and teachers and the role that non verbal communication plays in this…

Talk is proposed as the subject matter of foreign language courses. The key to acquiring liberated expression lies in the assimilation of the learner to the target culture. Once he/she is assimilated, the learner's involvement in a situation matches the involvement of natives of the target culture. For example, faced with some life circumstance…

A one-year project to explore the use of children's language served as a basis for staff development through the North Dakota Study Group on Evaluation. Children's conversations among themselves were observed and recorded within the classroom setting, and the content of the observations were used for planning curriculum and assessing children's…