Recommends that mathematics instruction should promote student discourse by orchestrating situations in which each individual's thinking is challenged and asking students to clarify and justify ideas. Provides a vignette of a heterogeneously grouped seventh-grade mathematics class to illustrate the process of mathematical discourse. (ASK)

Looks at the discussion of a small group of girls (ordinarily reticent or diffident in class) in a senior English class as they interpreted the character of Ophelia in Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Discusses the idea that thinking can develop through dialogic (collaborative) rather than dialectic (conflictive) transactions. Notes classroom…

Reports on an 18-month investigation of a teacher's actions during class discussions in a second-grade classroom in which student disagreement was resolved by argumentation. Concludes that creating a classroom environment in which students struggle with their own learning requires that teachers understand the complex relationship between the…

Describes an a second-language-learning activity called "Speak Out" that students have used successfully to achieve fluency in the English-as-a-Second-Language classroom. "Speak Out" is a 30-minute speaking activity that works well in an integrative skill program. The objective is to improve students' fluency through…

Proposes the use of simulations to develop oral-language skills in the English-as-a-Foreign-Language classroom. Simulations allow students to interact in meaningful and realistic contexts and generate their own discourse. (Author/VWL)

Identifies and clarifies an interpretation of scientific discourse that can be used as a lens for viewing problems of teaching science. Discusses why reform visions for science education are reasonable, desirable, and yet problematic in lower track classrooms. Presents data to explain and characterize lower-track science-classroom discourse.…

Examines whether secondary science teachers in England give students opportunities to develop and rehearse the skills of argumentation during their lessons. Finds that classroom discourse was largely teacher-dominated and tended not to foster the reflective discussion of scientific issues. Contains 43 references. (Author/WRM)

Shows how one first-grade teacher explicitly modeled her own authorship processes and how students took up those processes in their own writing. Analyzes classroom discourse to illustrate how the teacher and students shifted roles in the participation framework of writing activity among teacher, author, co-author, and overhearer to facilitate the…

Summarizes two studies concerning the attitudes of children aged 8-11 about being an artist and being creative, and concerning the effects of teacher behaviors and classroom verbal communication on student creativity. Discusses implications for camp activities in terms of camper exploration of ideas and materials and staff behaviors that encourage…

Illustrates subtleties and complexities of gender in language education, and suggests implications of research for educational practice. Demonstrates alternatives for research into gender and language classrooms, showing both how the more familiar approaches can be fruitfully developed and how researchers can go beyond them. (Author/VWL)

Describes techniques that help students become reflective about their learning. Describes how involving students as coresearchers who examine collectively the workings of their classroom supports the goal of learning to reflect, and allows teachers and students to learn to work together. Describes how this worked in a 12th-, 5th-, and 2nd-grade…

Reports the case studies of three trilingual elementary school children in separate Vancouver (British Columbia) early French immersion classes, focusing on themes emerging from analysis related to the children's literacy practices and contexts for language learning, and the teachers' perceptions of these students and representations of…

The University of Wisconsin Madison has a speech code that punishes faculty who make offensive remarks in the classroom. The code, declared unconstitutional in 1991 by a federal judge, has now been revised by a panel of professors, administrators, and students to allow faculty to teach controversial subjects, even if some students are offended in…

A discussion of teacher talk, particularly in the context of language immersion, looks at its nature, content, and form. A study reported here indicates the importance of discourse modification by the teacher and points up the need for further research on the effects of teacher talk on second-language learning. (Contains 23 references.)…

The issues that arise in a college course on multiculturalism can touch students very personally and may be a first opportunity for many students to talk face-to-face about important social issues. Anticipating when students may become defensive, angry, hurt, or when conflict might erupt will help faculty know when to lower or raise the…