The effect of different instructional variables on students' academic responding time was the focus of the current study. A total of 54 students from 10 classrooms in 5 suburban elementary schools served as subjects. In each school, six students were randomly selected from each of two classrooms, resulting in a group of 22 third graders and 32…

By using exercises to increase classroom community and journal assignments rather than tests, teachers can help empower students in the public speaking classroom. To create a sense of community in public speaking classrooms and to increase opportunities for dialogue on a personal level, an ungraded speaking assignment is used that begins the first…

This study was conducted to investigate how literature and literacy could merge, what effect immersion in a particular type of literature had on the writing and oral stories the children were producing, and what effect spontaneous talk and storymaking had on the classroom literacy process. Each day for 8 weeks, 10 fifth-grade students met…

Reducing class size is an important step in promoting effective learning, but reducing a class from 35 to 15 students alone will not produce the desired results if faculty do not alter their teaching styles. Students must be empowered through teaching techniques that utilize writing, recitation, reaction papers, case studies, peer group pressure,…

Beginning in 1985, Apple Computer, Inc., and several school districts began a collaboration to examine the impact of computer saturation on instruction and learning in K-12 classrooms. The initial guiding question was simply put: What happens when teachers and students have constant access to technology? To provide "constant access,"…

A case study of an at-risk student in a whole language "transition first grade" (representing an extra year between kindergarten and first grade) classroom chronicles her transition from an anxious and withdrawn student to an enthusiastic learner. Although it took nearly a month for the student to relax in the classroom, she then responded eagerly…

Three basic beliefs support teaching: (1) learning is social and individual; (2) learning must be personally meaningful; (3) learning rests upon a knowledge base that is constructed, not transmitted. The first step to creating an environment which supports learning in meaningful ways is for the teacher and students to become better inquirers into…

Whole language has to do with beliefs about language and learners that lead to beliefs about curriculum and instructional procedures. The term emerged as a label for the way language is thought to be learned: as a cohesive organization of systems working together as one--as a whole. The term whole language also refers to the learner as being…

In March 1990, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) carried out a study of the potential that technology offers to education at all levels. This project was known as The Vision: TEST (Technologically Enriched Schools of Tomorrow). Data for the study were collected via a review of the applicable literature, visits to schools…

A discussion of foreign language classroom communication focuses on the ratio of teacher talk to student talk and its contribution to second language learning. It begins with the assumption that if students are to develop communicative competence in the target language, they must be allowed and encouraged to talk progressively more while the…

A study compared performances on a test of selective auditory attention between students educated in open-space versus closed classroom environments. An open-space classroom environment was defined as having no walls separating it from hallways or other classrooms. It was hypothesized that the incidence of auditory figure-ground (ability to focus…

Although the physical environment of schools seems to affect the attitude and behavior of students and teachers, there is little scientific proof to support this belief. Two substantial studies have attempted to synthesize available research on the topic. First, an effort by Carol Weinstein has gathered significant data concerning spatial behavior…

A study explored the effects on both students and teachers of an alternative service delivery model (different from the traditional removal approach) for serving both low-achieving and learning-disabled (LD) students. The process-consultation model was chosen as the topic of this study. To its usual in-class team approach was added a focus on…

Collaborative learning (the construction of knowledge through interaction of pairs or small groups of students) is an effective tool for helping students bridge the gap between speaking and writing. To accomplish this type of learning, students must practice talking and writing in a small group structure. Concrete teaching experience has shown…

Designed for elementary school teachers, this publication treats various aspects of publishing young student-authors' writing. Activities are as follows: (1) proofreading (children should proofread first by themselves); (2) pagination (let children decide how to break up the text); (3) placement of text (on alternate pages, for example, or perhaps…