Interviewing is a popular way of gathering qualitative research data because it is perceived as "talking," and talking is natural. This column discusses the type of interview most often used in educational evaluation: the semistructured interview. A semistructured interview means questions are predetermined, but the interviewer is free to ask for…

An exercise that engages students in asking their own questions is provided and a description on the way in which it was applied in a large introductory chemistry-class is presented. Suggestions are offered to instructors regarding the way the exercise needs to be used, including several variations applicable to different topics in general…

This article is based on a small study of thirteen professional doctorate students in two universities, comprising nine current students and four who had completed. The sample consisted of lecturer/practitioners, ie those who had made the transition from practice into higher education and other professionals including headteachers and teachers in…

Students can imitate scientists at work by conducting inquiry investigations in the classroom, thereby exhibiting a multitude of skills and competencies. As stated by Bransford and Donovan (2005), learning science as a process of inquiry involves students in observation, imagination, and reasoning about the phenomena under investigation. Rather…

In Canada, as in other anglophone countries, classrooms are becoming more diverse as the number of English language learners (ELLs) increases. More and more teachers are faced with the task of meeting the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. In this article, I share excerpts of dialogue between ELL students, native…

It is a reality of schools today that most teachers are overwhelmed by daily demands on their time and energy. In particular, they find it difficult to allocate enough extra time for purposes of counselling individual pupils with problems. Any arrangement that enables them to fulfil this counselling role quickly and effectively--and with positive…

Including talk about art--conversing with children about artwork, their own and others'--as a component of visual art activities extends children's experiences in and understanding of visual messages. Johnson discusses practices that help children develop visual and verbal expression through active experiences with the visual arts. She offers 25…

Teachers know from their training and experience that questioning plays an important role in today's instruction. Modern lessons are fast-paced and interactive, with teachers asking a lot of questions. Because this instructional strategy dominates class time and because students are active during the lesson, there are more chances for management…

Talk is the foundation for thought and understanding and the key to literacy learning. Research demonstrates that powerful metacognitive strategies can be taught to help students self-monitor their comprehension when reading print and digital texts. This article provides a repertoire of speaking and listening strategies to develop the…

The issue of school failure at the 9th grade level is of great concern to educators. In this study, the author examined the use of cognitive, affective, and metacognitive questioning strategies in a 9th grade world history class as a means to increase student engagement and academic success. Through the use of structured journal questions over a…

Identifying students' interests in biology can play an important role in improving existing curricula to meet their needs. An analysis of 1,751 self-generated biological questions raised by children, adolescents, and adults yielded data regarding the different age groups' interests in biology. Research limitations and applications for teaching are…

This paper describes an approach to teaching grammar which has been designed for school-aged children with specific language impairment (SLI). The approach uses shapes, colours and arrows to make the grammatical rules of English explicit. Evidence is presented which supports the use of this approach with older children in the areas of past tense…

The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary teacher interview processes. The method for this qualitative study consisted of surveys as well as in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a sample of 17 elementary principals. The study examined the extent to which research-based best practices were reported by principals as they conducted…

The context for this study involves the intersection between a community's increasing expectation for hiring highly qualified classroom teachers and its increasing expectation for access and involvement in public schools. The current investigation attempted to identify community members' perceptions of the primary factors that influence their…

The field of accountancy plays a vital role in the financial health of modern-day economies. It also attracts very large numbers of students, many for whom English is not their first language, who train in a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate programs at English-medium universities. Yet, surprisingly, the discourse of accountants has been…