A reform-oriented teacher education model and its effect on the eventual classroom practice of preservice program graduates is examined. An ethnographic description is provided of the program, which emphasized an experiential philosophical base that permeated both the program and the compulsory educational milieu of the training site. Research…

Issues concerning the language of instruction used in teaching English to native speakers of Chinese, particularly adolescents, are discussed. The discussion draws on research in two areas: the role of language medium in the acquisition of concepts, and psycholinguistic differences between Chinese and English. It is concluded that while the…

A study used the Preschool Teacher Verbal Behavior Index (PTVBI) to measure the extent to which classrooms were learner-directed or teacher-directed. The instrument can be used to help teachers learn the appropriate degree of control for different classroom situations and individual learner needs. Verbatim teachers statements are categorized as…

The report resulting from a colloquium of scholars on teacher development and promising educational practice for ethnolinguistically diverse populations is summarized. The group met to discuss the urgent need for teacher preparation to meet the needs of increasingly multilingual school populations. Two major conclusions were reached: that…

A survey investigated the attitudes of one community college's English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers concerning the use of native language in the classroom, particularly by the teacher. Twenty-one ESL teachers, both part- and full-time, responded. Most were Hispanic, many were bilingual, and they represented a range of experience and…

This study examined how perceived teacher support of classroom questioning relates to other dimensions of teacher effectiveness, and how dimensions of teacher effectiveness are related to antecedents of classroom questioning. The study evaluated end-of-term ratings by college students (n=806) from 39 classes that suggested the following: (1)…

This learning activity package is designed to help the learner understand classes in apprenticeship-related instruction. Three units address what happens in apprenticeship classrooms, what should not be done in apprenticeship classrooms, and how to do one's best in an apprenticeship classroom. Each unit discusses problems that many students have…

Project META (Metacognitive Enhancing Teaching Activities) is a 3-year naturalistic case study designed to explicitly enhance the metacognitive capabilities of learners in order to illuminate the nature of metacognitive interactions among elementary students and to describe the impact this type of enhancement has on the formation of students'…

This study sought to determine the relations between generative teaching and student teachers' social maturity, receptivity to criticism, and ability to incorporate suggestions about their performance into their teaching. Profiles of "more effective" and "less effective" student teachers were compared with respect to generative…

The guide offers over 100 classroom activities and techniques for teaching English as a second language to adults, all provided by experienced teachers who have found them useful. They are divided into ten categories: (1) activities using materials or techniques from radio, television, and print news media; (2) exercises for teaching English for…

This paper reports on a study that explored the possibility of measuring distance education classes using the Media Sensor, a device designed to sample and record various electronic impulses generated during a distance education session. Research questions explored: (1) the ability of the Media Sensor to identify patterns in the audio and video…

This study investigated the differences in language patterns in classroom conversations between university students of English for academic purposes and two native speakers: the teacher and a native English-speaking student selected to provide English speech practice. Transcripts of role-play interactions in two groups (one assisted by the…

Community college instructors and administrators need to understand teacher immediacy research and the role of immediacy in the multi-cultural classroom. Immediacy can be viewed as a combination of nonverbal behaviors used to accentuate a verbal message and reduce physical and psychological distance between interactants. Janis Andersen's research…

By offering children the opportunity to speak up in the classroom, educators help build a vital foundation in open-mindedness that is essential for critical thinking. Teaching children to be critical thinkers requires that teachers listen to what children say, encourage them to talk, and not insist that they share the teacher's beliefs. Young…

The dialogue journal procedure, which involves written turn-taking between a teacher and a student, is examined in terms of how the journal process can prepare students for later oral communication. The use of the dialogue journal with four distinct student populations (hearing impaired or deaf, learning disabled, bilingual, and…