Presents three features of "Good" questions: requires students to do more than simply remember a strategy to answer; promotes student learning while answering the question; and have several acceptable answers. Considers how questions can be used to cater to the range of student abilities. (MDH)

A study investigated the effectiveness of teaching preservice elementary school teachers to adopt the learner role during application of a literature discussion instructional strategy. Analysis of two discussions by 24 teacher trainees indicated that the teachers did apply the target strategy from the learner's perspective as it was taught to…

Presents recommendations for teacher educators to prepare students to deal with sex bias in the schools (e.g., teacher educators must model what they teach, prospective teachers must study classroom dynamics to eliminate bias in classroom communication, and methods courses must incorporate research on how bias affects teaching methods). (SM)

A study assessed the impact of a teacher-training workshop at Israel's Ben Gurion University's medical school which focused on classroom interaction. Results of the workshop indicated verbal teacher-student interactions significantly outnumbered individual statements; interactions increased, especially in larger classes; cognitive correspondence…

Stimulated recall was used with 28 classroom teachers to examine their thought processes during instruction. Results indicated that at-risk children received more negative comments about attending and ability than did average achievers. Special education students received more positive and negative comments about attending than did average…

Summaries of eight language-related research projects are presented from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Topics include children's reading, nonstandard spoken Indonesian, English speech act performance, classroom verbal interaction, journal writing, and listening comprehension. (LB)

Review of the literature suggests that class participation by female students is increased when the teacher is female and/or the teacher has had training in sex equitable behavior. Women students rate female teachers higher than male teachers; and later achievement and confidence of female students are correlated with attending a women's college…

Reports on the initial stages of an ongoing action-research project in multicultural teacher education. Viewing curriculum as the creation of culturally significant domains for conversation, the project inquired into how a secondary English-methods course centered on issues of cultural diversity and emerging professional identities was taken up by…

Examines the nature of a middle school classroom during the development of a community of learners by focusing on teacher/student interactions and the connections made by students with people outside of the classroom. Finds that the teacher's role is critical in creating a community of learners. Contains 54 references. (Author/WRM)

Examines how lower-track science students understand shifts in standard classroom discourse patterns. Finds that students insert struggles for social status into classroom arguments about scientific ideas, making it difficult to separate in a group discussion whether evidence or the social politics of the class convinces students to accept an…

Presents 29 brief descriptions of research in the teaching of English (published July through December, 1999) in the areas of: bilingual/foreign language education; classroom discourse; discourse processes; literature; professional development; reading; research methodology; technology and literacy; and writing. (SR)

In a college accounting course, two faculty members experimented with a new approach to office hours, with all communication between students and teachers other than classroom dialog. Through electronic mail and other methods of data transmission. This included distribution of course syllabus, reading lists, study materials, and exams, and…

Describes a fourth/fifth-grade classroom in which students make decisions and enjoy school because they are invested in their own learning. Describes how the ability to think autonomously and solve problems is fostered in students by developing a sense of community. Describes how the student-planned social studies curriculum was more extensive…

This article discusses the difficulties students may have if they do not understand a teacher's verbal communication due to learning disabilities or attention deficit disorders. Strategies are provided for communicating with students, including speaking slowly, keeping instructions short, and using visual reminders. The Assessment of Basic…

This study examined the use of Daedalus InterChange, a local area computer network application, to facilitate communicative language use among college students in two elementary French courses. It found that students had more turns and used a greater variety of discourse functions when working in InterChange than they did in their oral…