Presents discussions that have taken place in an electronic forum by language lab professionals to discuss issues relevant to their everyday work. The discussions covered focus on the practicality of digital audio lab, good programs for instructional technology, "Systeme-D /Atajo" writing assistant programs for French and Spanish, and LCD…

Examines learner strategy in two English-as-a-Second-Language classes in Singapore; one class received instruction in asking higher-order questions, whereas the other did not. The treatment class asked significantly more higher-order questions and provided significantly more elaborated responses during small group discussions. (51 references)…

Describes challenges for teacher educators who want to help students move beyond talk about text that recalls facts to talk that supports interpretation and crafting of text. A case study describes how one teacher candidate struggled to reconcile what she thought teaching was with new ways of talking about text. (SM)

Presents a lesson plan to teach students about the Black Codes created in Virginia during the eighteenth century. Explains that the students read the included primary document, gather in groups to answer a set of questions, and meet as a class to relate their answers. (CMK)

Explores how participants in Web-based conferencing establish and maintain common ground in order to reach deeper levels of interaction in case-based Web discussions. Describes a Web-based conferencing course that included preservice teachers and mentors from three universities, and showed the need for written feedback and peer support to…

Demonstrates how to integrate static web pages with the dynamic forum for an effective learning experience on the online writing lab (OWL). Explains why asynchronous feedback provides effective, individualized writing instruction to students with various learning styles and how collaborative learning is fostered through threaded discussion groups.…

ListServ allows all parties to speak in the same manner, regardless of their level of technology and bandwidth access. The entry barrier has always been lower than other related technologies. While the hyperbole continues to swirl around the Web as an educational medium, the quiet e-mail message, magnified through the use of ListServ, continues to…

Presents a lesson plan on Pompeii (Italy) for middle school students that utilizes a teaching technique called interactive presentation. Describes the technique's five phases: (1) discrepant event inquiry; (2) discussion/presentation; (3) cooperative learning activity; (4) writing for understanding activity; and (5) whole-class discussion and…

Provides historical background about the Mississippi Freedom Schools that aimed to assist African American elementary and secondary students in 1964. Focuses on the questioning techniques that were based in progressive methods. Addresses discussion as a method, provides an example of a Freedom School discussion, and explores the implications for…

Discusses various class activities conducive to second-language learning. These include working on a legal document, group singing, a presentation on environmental pollution resulting from plastic bags, and listening to a tape on an organization and then posing and answering questions regarding dealings with that group. (CK)

Discusses the importance of the strategic use of lesson time to impart learning to students of English as a Second Language. The article touches on the definition of teaching, wasting time in the classroom, overuse of English or of the mother tongue, and interaction patterns in the classroom. (one reference) (CK)

The use of a "2 x 2" matrix for introspection is described. Columns are labelled "Like" and "Don't Like" and rows are labelled "Have" and "Don't Have"; items are jotted down in each of the quadrants. Discussion includes self-diagnosis of responses, cooperative brainstorming and analysis, additional applications, and suggestions for filling out…

Describes the planning and implementation of an online writing center for adult students of SUNY Empire State College, a non-residential, independent-study distance-learning institution. Highlights informational and facilitative properties of hypertext and the need for a personalized instructor "voice." Components of the program included…

Describes the Touchstones Discussion Project at New York's Rice High School, in which students lead and participate in discussions on writings related to controversial issues. Suggests that the project helps students master complex material and develop leadership skills as they take increasing responsibility for their education. (AJL)

Thirty-one 6th-grade students with and without mild disabilities participated in an eight-week project-based investigation about immigration to the United States. Students were assigned the role of the immigrants or opponents of immigration and asked to debate desirability of immigration. Debates promoted high levels of engagement and equal…