Teachers' interactional practices shape children's displays of knowledge. Teachers often rely on direct interactional devices, such as questions, to call for knowledge displays from children. However, case examples suggest that interactional strategies that downgrade teachers' expert status, such as 'I wonder…' formulations may enhance child…

Abstract For students to meaningfully engage in science practices, substantive changes need to occur to deeply entrenched instructional approaches, particularly those related to classroom discourse. Because teachers are critical in establishing how students are permitted to interact in the classroom, it is imperative to examine their role in…

A significant percentage of students have families from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds, yet the experiences and practices of such students are often not reflected in the curriculum. To create more equitable literacy learning environments, students need opportunities to explore economic diversity and to challenge harmful discourses about…

Recent research has argued that inquiry-based science learning should be guided by providing the learners with support. The research on guidance for inquiry-based learning has concentrated on how providing guidance affects learning through inquiry. How guidance for inquiry-based learning could promote learning about inquiry (e.g. epistemic…

The integration of socioscientific issues (SSI) in science education calls for emphasizing dialogic classroom practices that include students' views together with multiple sources of knowledge and diverse perspectives on the issues. Such classroom practices aim to empower students to participate in decision-making on SSI. This can be accomplished…

Supporting student engagement in science practices requires rethinking how classroom learning occurs, specifically in terms of the interactions that help students build their own knowledge. The types of student-driven exchanges fundamental to the science practice of argumentation differ greatly from traditional classroom interactions. To help…

This article examines and offers insights to a year of Socratic circles in the context of a world history classroom. Grounding this practice in relevant research before offering examples from the classroom and providing advice to practitioners, this discussion strategy offers an antidote to the often divisive and destructive examples of…

The strategy of question generating can be used to develop communication and metacognitive skills in students, thus leading to more meaningful discourse.

During a recent English class at the Universidad Tecnológica El Retoño (UTR) in Aguascalientes, the teacher, Celeste Fernández, asked a student a question. When the student paused for a few seconds, other students shouted out answers. Ms. Fernández reminded those students, "Give her time to think, please!" This short moment shows the…

This mixed method case study examines South Korean university students' social and academic interactions with international students. Data included a closed-ended survey, an open-ended survey, and a focus group. The participants comprised university students studying at a mid-sized university in central South Korea. Results indicate that students…

The current research study aims at inspecting various levels of apprehension and anxiety faced by university postgraduates in Pakistan and China when learning a foreign language (FL). The target population of this research was the university postgraduates from a Chinese university in Wuhan, and a public sector university in Lahore, Pakistan. The…

Classroom interaction is an essential element in developing communicative skills. In a foreign language context like Burkina Faso, the classroom appears as the only setting that provides an opportunity for English language learners to practice their communicative skills. In the classroom, teachers create opportunities for interaction between…

The purpose of this research paper is to encourage school teachers (with an emphasis on elementary teachers) to recognize and explore the literacy potential of their classroom libraries as a powerful critical literacy tool/asset that when designed and utilized strategically has the potential to reposition their classroom pedagogy and curriculum…

The aim of this research was to analyze preschool teachers' types of science talks and the variety of concept-related words they used during these talks in class. A picture storybook with a light related concept as the main theme, was chosen as a data collection tool. Teachers were asked to analyze this wordless picture storybook and children were…

Many children may need the help of another person to attend school. It is common for children with disabilities to receive help from a teaching assistant at school. Assistants are provided in many countries as a legal right and are often publicly funded. It is also widely assumed that having teaching assistants in the class is an effective and…