This study examined the implementation and outcomes of a laptop program initiative in a predominantly low-income, minority school. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, analyzed, and compared with students in non-laptop classrooms within the same school. Results of the study revealed that in the hands of well prepared teachers,…

This study integrates the purposes of communication, i.e. in-class and on-line discussions, with problem solving skills in the process of learning professional knowledge of pre-service teachers. It attempts to foster both comprehension of professional knowledge and the attitude of contextualizing knowledge with situational factors. More…

Middle-grade students like to talk. This natural "gift of gab" may at times be suppressed by teachers who prefer to impart knowledge rather than allow students to participate in its development. Intelligence is a social practice. Students become adept at socializing their intelligence if they are encouraged to talk in meaningful and constructive…

Presumably, everyone shares the understanding that teaching for social justice means providing students with a supportive learning environment that is just, fair, democratic, and even compassionate. In reality, people are probably using this term to mean many things without actually embracing it as a perspective for educating students in urban…

In this study, we examined the nature of whole-class discussion and teachers' instruction during discussion about historical topics in one inclusive, middle-grade classroom. We videotaped and analyzed 4 lessons to determine the nature of discussion sequences, rates of participation, and instructional challenges encountered by the teacher and…

Studies on classroom interaction have typically focused on relationships between turn-taking patterns and some larger unit of analysis of varying length and nature. However, two questions still left unanswered are how teachers talk differently from students in general and how linguistic variation between two participants might relate to…

Wishing to explore the complexity of the conceptual, didactic and institutional aspects of learning a scientifically defined object of knowledge, we chose to study the link between the personal relation to numeration developed by six-year-old pupils in first grade ("cours preparatoire" the first level of primary school in France), and…

This study examines how one student pair working face-to-face at a computer and engaged in a web-based discussion environment negotiated meanings for their activity and what contextual resources they used in this negotiation process. The aim was also to study how the students themselves interpreted the learning activity. The subjects were two…

Literacy educators are troubled by the isolated nature of many contemporary reading programs. Too often in middle school classrooms, students read alone, take computerized tests, and do not engage in authentic dialogue with peers. In this article, the authors argue that reading texts individually, while necessary, is not sufficient, and through…

This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using information and communication technology (ICT) as a mediating artefact in the classroom compared to alternative tools with illustrations from a qualitative classroom study. The aim of the article is to describe and show the conditions that have to be satisfied if ICT is to have an…

Applying theories of cultural dimensions, teacher credibility, and nonverbal immediacy, this chapter explores classroom management techniques used by Asian female teachers to establish credibility. (Contains 1 note.)

This paper sets out to investigate (i) gender differences in whole class classroom interaction with a sample of teachers who were not using interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in their lessons; and (ii) the short-term and longer term impact of IWB use upon gender differences in classroom interaction. The study focused upon teacher-student interaction…

This paper explores the discourse of whole class teaching in Kenyan and Nigerian primary school English lessons. Twenty lessons were analysed using a system of discourse analysis focusing on the teacher-led three-part exchange sequence of Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF). The focus of the analysis was on the first and third part of the IRF…

According to the NCTM reform suggestions, when teachers are orchestrators of student interactions, students adopt a more active role in explaining and learning mathematics. This research, which mapped the nature and role of meaningful mathematical discourse, provides insights into discursive practices that lead to rich mathematical interactions.…

In an essay in "College English," Cheryl L. Johnson argues that whether or not a female teacher considers herself a feminist she must at some point confront, at least within herself, the material conditions of herself as subject in the classroom. Three options are available for the woman composition teacher who wants to or has been…