Reported is an instrument, the Science Student Observation Instrument (SSOI), designed for use in activity-centered science classes in desegregated urban junior high schools. Use of the instrument will enable the observer to compare classroom behaviors of black and white students, to determine the extent of interracial interactions, and to…

In contrast to a teacher-dominated literature classroom where authority rests with the one who has the power to grade, a classroom dedicated to cultivating the creative process breaks down the traditional hierarchies (such as theory and practice, text and reader, and organization and improvisation) and concentrates on the needs of the individual…

The report presents the results of an evaluation of the educational impact in two Los Angeles County, California, elementary schools, of Interactive Classroom Television Systems (ICTSs -- closed circuit systems that permit continuous two-way visual communication between teachers and partially sighted students and enable such students to make the…

Describing an innovative classroom technique, which seeks to place students in small interactive groups rather than in large groups around a teacher, this study provides guidelines for making cooperation and mutual trust a valuable and necessary by-product of education. The technique prescribes that each child be given a part of a topic to study,…

The teacher program and instructional materials described here focus on skill building in methods of responsiveness, increasing student initiative, and providing varying degrees of structure according to student needs. This descriptive report provides information on the purposes and content of the program as well as activities and resources…

This paper reviews studies on classroom talk and on mother-child interaction; it compares the latter with classroom talk and speculates on what language in the classroom could be. The discussion of language in the classroom revolves around: (1) the speech situation, that is, a situation organized in terms of some nonverbal activity; (2) the speech…

THE ASSUMPTIONS OF THIS REVIEW OF STUDIES WHICH EVALUATE TEACHER STYLE AND VERBAL BEHAVIOR AS IT RELATES TO PUPIL ACHIEVEMENT ARE (1) A PUPIL'S LEARNING IS A FUNCTION OF THE INSTRUCTION HE RECEIVES, (2) TEACHERS ARE DIFFERENTIALLY SUITED TO CERTAIN GROUPS, AND (3) DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN NEED TEACHERS WITH SPECIAL TRAINING. IT IS NOTED THAT, IN…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 14 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the effects of student generated self-management objectives on the frequency of higher cognitive verb and noun usage in classroom interactions; (2) a logarithmic solution to the…

This supplement contains an additional audiotape lesson aimed mainly at teachers of English as a second language (ESL) working with Indochinese refugee children. The goal of free conversation and communication in the classroom is explicated under the following headings: (1) making drills more meaningful and communicative, (2) using large-group…

The National Education Association (NEA) opposes the use of standardized, norm-referenced tests of intelligence, achievement, and aptitude, citing problems with their substance, structure, administration, and use. NEA suggests five alternatives: (1) performance contracts; (2) teacher-student and teacher-parent-student interviews; (3)…

Intended to provide an annual overview and synthesis of developments in the evolution of the science of communication, this volume is the third in a series of publications that began in 1977. The volume contains disciplinary reviews and commentaries on topics of general interest to scholars and reseachers in all subdivisions of communication…

The Miniaturized Interaction Analysis System (Mini-TIA) was developed to permit improved analysis of classroom communication in conjunction with video taping. Each of seven verbal event categories is subdivided into two categories according to the nature of the nonverbal events paralleling them. Integrated into the system are (1) defined verbal…

True learning requires that students "make meaning" for themselves, but the patterns of verbal behavior that prevail in secondary classrooms tend to stifle rather than facilitate this process. Excerpts from tape recordings of lessons in three secondary classrooms show that, whereas the teachers display great autonomy and control over what they…

This paper suggests that one way of understanding the role of feedback in a classroom situation is to describe the types of feedback which are communicated in a range of settings and to study the effect the feedback seems to have. Systematic descriptions are provided of the feedback communicated by teachers in ESOL classes, by children playing, by…

In order to determine the effectiveness of the tutorial method of individual conferences for communicating students' strengths and weaknesses in writing skills compared to the traditional method of returning correction-marked papers with only written comments on them, two experiments were conducted in which an experimental group and a control…