One of a series of six portraits of high school literature classrooms, this paper gives a detailed, evocative characterization of how one "master teacher" introduced, undertook, and guided the study of literature, focusing in particular on how the teacher interacted with students in the context of discussion of a literary work in class.…

The perceptions of tutors and instructors in the Biloxi Family English Literacy Program concerning their professional roles are summarized, and suggestions are made for improving classroom communication. Teacher responses to a survey indicate specific desirable teacher characteristics and qualifications, including interpersonal communication and…

This study examined the relationship between teacher and student understandings. Subjects consisted of 26 third-grade students, of whom six were chosen for case studies, in a school in a large metropolitan area. All students were Latino, bilingual, and from working class homes. Modified cloze lessons were taught, and three types of data were…

Sixty-eight kindergarten teachers (from a town in Austria) who had previously labeled selected students in their classes as either aggressive or socially competent completed a questionnaire and were observed in their classroom interactions. The questionnaire yielded biographical and sociographical data of the teachers, assessed teacher attitudes,…

Teaching conversation will always pose a great challenge to the foreign language instructor. Even by the third year of language study, the typical time for this skill's development, students have neither the fluency nor the confidence necessary to speak easily. Also, since many are ill at ease in conversing in their native language, getting these…

Despite the surrounding controversy, second language instruction for America's language minority children is an important educational issue for continued methodological innovation and examination. The most effective and productive classroom interaction processes and dynamics in bilingual and second language instruction are still not appropriately…

Ways to prepare and present lectures that hold college students' attention and involve them in the teaching-learning process are discussed. Attention is focused on linguistic, rhetorical, and psychological aspects of classroom communication; common communication problems in the classroom; and how to overcome and avoid communication problems.…

Described is a Utah State University project that developed materials to help college faculty teaching introductory courses in psychology, sociology, and microeconomics to incorporate knowledge concerning both the biological and social aspects of sex into their courses. For the purposes of this paper, discussion is limited to the field of…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 12 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the relational nature of humor, (2) pragmatism and transaction, (3) within-channel redundancy versus between-channel redundancy in instructional material and its association with…

Affective communication behavior is central to the teaching-learning process. A review of literature reveals that the affective domain has been viewed primarily as a teacher property rather than as an interactive variable in the process of student learning. However, there is a need for research that explores how affective behavior is negotiated…

Four research-based principles offer guidance to educators aiming to facilitate young children's acquisition of communicative competence. These principles concern the effect of interaction on the development of competence; the necessity for content in interaction; the requirement that content be ecologically valid to participants; and the impact…

A teacher of child care courses at the college level implemented a practicum designed to encourage caregivers in five group day care settings to express a greater level of positive affect toward children. Training needs at the preschool centers were assessed and caregivers were videotaped as they carried out normal activities with their groups of…

The Significant Bilingual Instructional Features (SBIF) study identified, described, and verified features of bilingual instruction of a wide variety of limited English proficient (LEP) students. It collected data on instructional organization, time allocation, classroom language use, active teaching behaviors, academic learning time, student…

A study examined the interaction strategies of one teacher for promoting student writing in the dialogue journals of 12 limited-English-proficient sixth grade students and the effect of these strategies on the length and complexity of the students' writing. The teacher strategies identified include requests for a reply and personal contributions…

Data from three different teacher surveys are compared in a study of Paraguayan bilingual teacher attitudes on the choice of the language to be used in the classroom. The surveys were conducted in 1976, 1979, and 1986. Paraguay was chosen because of the stability of Guarani-Spanish bilingualism in that country and in its educational system. A…