This collection of essays brings together Mary Louise Pratt's original essay, the 10-year-old "Professing in the Contact Zone," with 14 responses that interpret, extend, and challenge Pratt's work. The essays examine how contact zone dynamics play out in various pedagogical spaces. Following an introduction by the editor, essays in…

This study evaluated differences in teacher and student perceptions about communication patterns within classrooms and the effect of a teacher-student communication system, the Learning Expressways System, on teacher-student communication. High school teachers who had or have had students with disabilities in their classes participated. In the…

Issues and patterns in second language learning are discussed, drawing on a 1985 study with learners of English as a second language in Australia. Discussion begins with an analysis of the process of learning one form of verb marking, the ending "-ing." The inherent complexity of this form in English is examined, and ways in which…

This study examined the types of questions teachers are asking in their classrooms to help promote critical thinking. To do this, 12 teachers representing kindergarten through fifth grade were asked to tape record 3 reading lessons. The lessons were examined and a tally was taken as to the types of questions asked: lower-level or higher-level. The…

Based on the idea that conversational interaction between students and teachers in the classroom is the best way to learn, this book focuses on classroom talk about book-related topics. The teachers represented in the book initiate literature discussion groups, book clubs, and literature circles, and students share the thoughts and feelings that…

This research project seeks to implement journaling as a means of improving oral communication in the classroom. The student population will consist of an elementary reading class, a junior high art class, and a high school math class. The probable cause literature gathered revealed a lack oral communication occurs in the classroom during…

This report describes and discusses several applications of new computer-based technologies which enable postsecondary students with deafness or hearing impairments to read the text of the language being spoken by the instructor and fellow students virtually in real time. Two current speech-to-text options are described: (1) steno-based systems in…

A case study examined the beliefs and theories of a high school social studies teacher and the life experiences he used to explain how he came to hold those beliefs. Examining the teacher's beliefs and theories and also the experiential roots of these theories offers greater potential for illuminating the role of teacher biography in curriculum…

Recent debates focus on literacy curriculum as if it is separate from teachers' other work, almost at times as if teachers and their contexts are irrelevant to what is the most appropriate literacy pedagogy. Perhaps learning to read and write is not hard work, but teaching is, no matter which theoretical orientation about literacy is adhered to.…

This paper considers how Australian young people living in relative poverty, per se, are portrayed in media reports and how a specific group of socioeconomically disadvantaged young people are constituted in teachers' classroom talk. The paper begins with the examination of several newspaper reports, part of an archive of articles concerned with…

It is not news that managerial discourses have dominated government educational policy and programs in Australia since the mid 1980s. During this period there has also been a proliferation of discourses about literacy. The common sense view is that literacy empowers disadvantaged people and assists failing economies. The last decade and a half has…

This book describes how one New York City middle school social studies teacher challenged the traditional, textbook-driven curriculum, kindled the students' interest, and ultimately transformed both teaching methods and learning experiences through process drama. Drawing from a blend of narrative reflections and classroom-based research, the book…

The central problem of this study was to determine whether teachers working with children identified as residing in low socioeconomic level homes and teachers working with children identified as residing in middle socioeconomic level homes differed in the quantity and quality of exhibited nonverbal behavior. (Author)

A teacher, who grew up in the fifties, relived his experiences as a student and a teacher while he reviewed the development of literature and its meaning for today's students. (RK)

Considers the use of language by children vs. that by teachers in the classroom and how language is crucial for effective learning processes. (RK)