Teachers at two urban elementary schools with a history of low student achievement in reading met in weekly study groups to engage in structured dialogue about teaching practice. These groups were established through the support of the Urban Literacy Institute, a joint project of Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and the Dayton, Ohio,…

One hundred and eighty British secondary school pupils aged 11-12 and their six trainee teachers in five schools participated in an action research project, designed to improve the quality of children's group talk in English lessons, particularly their engagement in higher-order thinking through "exploratory" talk. The programme,…

Working within a theoretical framework of sociocultural theory, with a particular focus on the construct of scaffolding, this five and a half month qualitative study explored the ways in which one third-grade teacher supported students' move towards literature discussion groups. Data sources including expanded field notes, video and audiotape…

This article is the sequel to the use of "Flatland" with beginning algebra students reported in Sriraman (2003). The use of "Flatland" with beginning algebra students resulted in the positive outcomes of cultivating critical thinking in the students as well as providing the teacher with the context necessary to introduce sophisticated mathematical…

Technology reshapes our thinking about learning in multiple ways. This article proposes that middle school students can use asynchronous online discussions to improve their responses to literature, increase their engagement with the classroom community, and recenter the classroom around student voices. Working in small groups, students read the…

Traditional lectures generally force students to play a passive role in the classroom. In an effort to promote active learning, we added discussion sections to a large lecture hall course. Field trips, student journals, and group-based assignments, in particular, enhanced the learning experience. To ensure the success of the new format, course…

Students analyze a contemporary geopolitical event from a comprehensive geographic perspective using role play simulation, discussion, and decision-making. The three-day activity provides teachers with a realistic, ready-made classroom lesson that combines powerful conceptual learning with drama and surprise. The task of the teacher is to…

Ongoing behavioral research has documented the growing prevalence of adolescent health risk behaviors, such as tobacco use, sexual activity, alcohol and other substance use, nutritional behavior, physical inactivity, and intentional injury. Newer youth risk behaviors, such as pathological gambling, are emerging as threats to public health. Risk,…

This study explores the extent to which small group argumentation and discussion was used as part of a series of three practical inquiry-based science lessons in each of two Year 8 (age 12-13) classes. The actions and talk of the teacher and two target groups of students in each class were recorded using video-recorders and audiorecorders.…

Problem solving is an ideal learning strategy, especially for topics that are perceived as difficult to teach. As an example, a format is described for a problem-solving session designed to help students understand the pressure-flow hypothesis of phloem transport in plants. Five key facts and their discussion can lead to the conclusion that a…

Although many of us would like to get beyond lecturing, we often lack concrete strategies for doing so, particularly in our larger classes. This paper suggests one such strategy for creating a discussion-based course. The success of such a course is predicated on students reading and thinking about the course material (receiving "first exposure")…

For years, experts have said that the way to get things done is to schedule them on the calendar and to find a partner to join in the effort. Following this advice, the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) joined the Leadership Initiative at WestEd in inviting superintendents and district teams to think through improving…

Current research on language learning makes many claims about the potential benefits of small group work in L2 classrooms. With the relatively recent emphasis on students' perspectives, there is now a growing number of investigations that focus on learners' beliefs about the language classroom. In this study, 21 students and their teachers…

This study compares the effects of forum discussion with metacognitive guidance versus forum discussion without metacognitive guidance (Forum) on solving real life mathematical tasks and self-regulated learning. Participants were 43 Grade 7 students (boys and girls) who practiced online problem-solving in two classes. The metacognitive guidance…

Teachers have the opportunity to discuss the emotions of children as they occur in the context of the classroom. As such, teachers play an important role in the socialization of emotions of young children. This observational study examines teachers' discussions of emotions in three child care centers. The findings suggest that child care centers…