Purpose: Introduces the primary concepts behind the practice of action inquiry. Then, examines what current literature suggests about components of the performance appraisal process and identifies areas where applying action inquiry concepts can add a new dimension to our current understanding. Design/methodology/approach: Applies action inquiry,…

The purpose of this article is to describe findings from a study of teachers' social interaction during discussions about students' thinking. The goal of the discussions was for the teachers to interpret their students' thinking as revealed from work on non-routine, thought-revealing mathematical tasks, known as "model-eliciting…

One of the major challenges of teaching whole class lessons in heterogeneous classrooms rests in finding ways to engage all participants in the conversation. Intellectual role taking, an approach developed and studied in the teaching of elementary science and history lessons, provides one possibility for handling this perennial pedagogical…

Designing preservice teacher education partially around voluntary study groups offers teacher educators a unique chance to examine group members' perspectives and understandings. This article examines the topics of concern and questions expressed by six general education student teachers in a collaborative dialogue group focused on inclusive…

Teaching bioethics might be likened to a rollercoaster ride of twists, turns, and dips that invite teachers and students to experience something of their own edges of fear and comfort. Here the author provides readers with a glimpse into her distinctive approach to teaching bioethics that encourages students to move beyond boundaries of personal…

Balls made of modelling clay (Plasticine[TM]) can be used to generate a classroom discussion about the scientific evidence used to determine the structure of the Earth. This allows pupils to appreciate how evidence is used to support hypotheses and to distinguish fact from hypothesis. It also provides opportunity to correct misconceptions held by…

Situated in the context of a one year in-service professional development program for mentors in Israel, this study explored the process and content of mentors' professional conversations as opportunities for collaboratively constructing knowledge about mentoring. The analysis of the monthly conversations, conducted throughout an entire academic…

In "Active Reading," Mark Panek details the dialogic model for discussing reading assignments in introductory composition courses he developed while teaching at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. He then argues for the model's appropriateness and effectiveness for diverse student populations, situating his discussion in the conversation of…

In New Zealand, selected sworn police officers called youth aid officers participate in discussions and deliberations concerning the actions required to restore the sense of community balance upset by the actions of juvenile offenders. The author explores a representative sample of all sworn police officers serving in the New Zealand Police,…

This paper is part of an ongoing study of discursive behaviour both at home and at school. The overall goal of the analysis presented was to explore the level of dialogicity (Linell, 1998) manifest in Israeli classrooms. This quest was motivated by a sociocultural inclination towards learning, which places instructive dialogue at the core of…

This article presents a roundtable held by the editorial board of "Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniia"; the sector of the sociology of education of the Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences; and the committee for research on the sociology of education, Russian Society of Sociologists. The meeting was conducted by Doctor of…

Ten students in a graduate-level course on Historical and Policy Perspectives in Higher Education held face-to-face and online discussions on five controversial topics: diversity, academic freedom, political tolerance, affirmative action, and gender. Upon completion of each discussion, they assessed their comfort, honesty, concern for others'…

This discussion paper provides an overview and analytic guide to long term planning of education systems in the context of Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals. Long term gains in educational access depend on anticipating future financial and non-financial constraints on growth and on successful implementation of plans which…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to reveal classroom interaction patterns in jigsaw classroom of young learners. To be more specific, this study was aimed at depicting the ways young learners initiate discussion, respond to initiations, and evaluate responses and initiations. Methodology: Five graders of 2 elementary schools in Surabaya,…

Many middle school students claim that their voices are ignored in the classroom, where the attitude is too often that the teacher holds the one right answer. Instead of this approach, teachers may wish to use the Socratic Seminar, which prompts students to examine issues and ideas through dialogue and actively involves and motivates them, giving…