This paper explores the impact of a specially designed programme of communicative strategies on English second language (ESL) development in a scaffolded case study that set out to promote teacher-guided, constructive learner talk in the outcomes-based education arts and culture classroom. The programme was implemented in a multilingual secondary…

Inspired by Bakhtin's and Vygotsky's theories of learning, this project explores how "allowing not-knowing" is enacted within collaborative student-led seminar discussions. Earlier research on student reflections (Feito, 2002) suggested that in successful seminars, participants regularly acknowledge their lack of understanding, offer…

Some teachers feel that spending any class time on topics other than the subject at hand is a waste--but in this article, the author argues that it is important for teachers to share of themselves and make personal connections with their students, particularly in middle school. Teachers who share personal vignettes and make use of "teachable…

This paper proposes that Interactive Technology can help professors enhance communication in the classroom so there is increased attention, interest, preparation, and retention of class materials by the students. Interactive Technology (also called audience response systems) involves students using individual response pads (clickers) to respond to…

In this article, the author discusses the influence of conversations in the shaping of a person's life. He shares how some of the voices he heard early in his life, specifically those of his mother and his local pastor, had a profound impact on his life. These were conversations that taught him the value of doing the best that he could and of the…

Teachers may resist the notion of teaching as a performance but his or her voice, gestures, and movement in the classroom can help or harm student attentiveness. Strong skills in voice and movement can help illuminate a teacher's questions and ideas for students, drawing attention to what matters, holding their attention through a long class, and…

In this article we present an instrument to be used by students and professors to evaluate classroom dialogue. We begin with an explanation of the classroom community of inquiry and why we value it as a pedagogical approach. We then describe our different reasons for evaluating classroom dialogue--including institutional, professional and…

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of performance cues on beginning indoor rock climbers. A secondary purpose was to create a content analysis for the skill of indoor rock climbing. The utility of performance cues has been demonstrated from a pedagogical perspective in traditional physical activity settings. However, no…

Correction and repair as components of an instructional practice that facilitates learning have figured prominently in research on classroom-based second and foreign language learning. Recent studies incorporating a conversation analytic (CA) perspective on second language acquisition (SLA) have also focused on repair and correction. From a CA…

Research and practice in the use of electronic voting systems has developed over the last five years. Electronic voting systems, also known as personal response systems, audience response systems or classroom communication systems, use handsets to elicit responses from students as part of structured teaching sessions, typically lectures. The use…

Instructors of college/university writing classes commonly ask their students to "share their ideas" in groups. This paper aims to describe the sequential structures of a kind of talk typical to group work: students presenting "reports" about early written drafts. Specifically, the data analysis in this paper looks at how a student's report…

This paper is concerned with "match-mismatch" problems. In particular it seeks to match students' questioning to different modes of teaching in undergraduate chemistry. Kolb's theory of experiential learning is used to bridge between learners' questioning and teaching formats. Three case studies illuminate both sets of characteristics, the…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has consistently recognized communication as essential to reform-oriented mathematics teaching (NCTM 1991, 2000). In this article, the authors propose a strategic mix of univocal and dialogic discourse that, when used in conjunction with an "inductive model of teaching," can promote…

In this article, we examine the ways in which identities within a classroom are not given, but are formulated in and through the developing discourses, practices and ways of structuring interactional spaces for collective and individual activity. Using an interactional ethnographic approach, we explore how potentials for developing local…

This article discusses the usefulness of anecdotes as a technique to stimulate learners' interest and thus create a meaningful learning context in the second language classroom. It describes the pattern of an anecdote and how it should be formed as well as the different types of anecdotes. The article offers tips to successfully implement this…