In this article, we analyze the complexity of using instructional dialogues in the teaching of mathematics. We trace a 10-lesson unit on functions and their graphs taught by Magdalene Lampert to a 5th-grade classroom. We use this trace to help analyze and systematize the complexity of the classroom discourse. Analysis shows that Lampert's…

In the project described in this chapter, discussions during group exams were analyzed to gain insight into how students make group decisions for their answers and the implications of their decision-making methods for deepening student understanding.

Revising reading program can breathe new life into the classroom and increase students' confidence. This paper describes how one teacher decided to refine her reading curriculum. She had five non-negotiables for the curriculum: the need for self-selection of quality literature; volume of reading; peer interaction; individual conferences; and…

This paper is drawn from a larger study investigating high school students' participation in group discussions of public issues and the nature of those discussions. An interpretive approach was adopted to research democratic, deliberative discussion, viewed through a multidisciplinary lens influenced by sociolinguistics, speech communication,…

This article reports the results of an investigation, based on a 170,000-word corpus of test performance, of the validity of College English Test-Spoken English Test (CET-SET) group discussion by examining the degree of interaction among candidates in the group discussion task with respect to a set of interactional language functions (ILFs) to be…

Past research into the use of video for professional development has failed to problematise or theorise sufficiently the role of the discussion facilitator. It has been reported consistently that it can be hard or take time to establish norms for discussion of video but little has been said about reasons why, or the role of the discussion…

This article reports on part of the author's PhD action research study. It examines the complexity of features that social media and Web 2.0 offer when combined with face-to-face teaching and learning. Action research was used to help redesign the learning programs of XXX's thirteen Middle Years classes over an eighteen month period. These…

An increasing number of high needs high school students (defined as students with little or no parent support, first generation potential college students, or students living with someone other than their biological parents) are graduating from high school, but not attending a post-secondary institution. This study focused on the effects that a…

This article details how certain mathematical "discoveries" that Cavazos' fourth graders made were recorded throughout the year. Cavazos invited a math professor, a biologist, a literacy professor, a chemist, a statistician, and an engineering student, as well as their school principal and computer lab technician, both of whom are…

More and more educational institutions have been moving towards delivering courses and programs at a distance. Although asynchronous online courses overcome the constraints of time, students feel isolated due to the lack of real-time communications. One possible solution to overcome this isolation been suggested that learner's online behavior and…

Scholars have argued for reading and discussing children's and young adult literature containing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or questioning (LGBTQ) characters and related themes with youths. Yet, we know very little about how to do this among LGBTQ people and their allies. This study examined 18 transcripts of talk from a literature…

This study reports on a mixed methods study which explored 32 Iranian pre-service teachers' perceptions of attending online asynchronous discussion forums during two seven-week online introductory courses in corpus linguistics. Data were collected through a questionnaire, discussion forum entries and online text-based semi-structured interviews.…

The years between childhood and adulthood are full of new experiences and new challenges. This guide is designed to help young people and adults participate in a study circle on youth issues. The study circles, which are small-group, democratic, peer-led discussions, offer a way for participants to work together as full partners in community…

A common problem in an "experiential class" is the lack of attention devoted to group closure at the end of the course. Toward the end of the semester, students working in small groups in organizational behavior classes often experience anxiety over losing the support and identity that they enjoyed as members of a small learning group. A final…