This paper reports the results of a pilot study of the routine daily interactions of elementary school teachers. The study was undertaken to identify a method that can be used to study interaction patterns for a large sample of teachers. Specific questions were whether teachers would consistently record and self-report their daily interactions,…

This study describes the challenges and successes of student teachers (N=111) in a high school setting as they shift from the role of narcissistic student to that of other-centered teacher. The study attempts to capture their inner feelings as they begin the process of learning to teach. Throughout a 12-week assignment, the student teachers were…

By using exercises to increase classroom community and journal assignments rather than tests, teachers can help empower students in the public speaking classroom. To create a sense of community in public speaking classrooms and to increase opportunities for dialogue on a personal level, an ungraded speaking assignment is used that begins the first…

In recognition that remedial writing students, regardless of age, are accustomed to failure in written English, instructors of Glen Oaks Community College's developmental writing classes emphasize positive attitudes and activities, students' responsibility for their success or failure, and positive and reassuring instructor attitudes. The writing…

A study examined whether written language in general and dialog journal writing in particular is the preferred vehicle for syntactic acquisition of some adult learners. Subjects were five adult English-as-second-language (ESL) students, all literate in their first language, which was Spanish. Subjects were observed over a period of 16 weeks.…

This study explored 22 ninth-grade English students' reading engagement and interpretation of a young adult multicultural novel dealing with biethnic identity development. The descriptive multicase study charted students' literary engagement in an urban technology magnet school and a rural Hawaii high school. The research question was: What are…

Aiming to disprove the media's insistence that American schools are typically ill-equipped to teach children from low-income neighborhoods, this book describes a primary school teacher's use of a blend of meaningful and interesting reading material, early writing practice, speaking, and explicit instruction. It describes teaching methods in great…

In this lesson, students role-play supporting members of the original Lewis and Clark expedition of the Louisiana Territory. Students research the expedition and create journals of their journey. The journals are meant to be historically accurate, and students will include items such as maps, personal written entries, illustrations, and…

The writings of both teachers and students participating in the New Americans Homeowners Project, a project combining English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction and information on first-time home-buying for immigrants in language minority groups are presented. The project provided training and technical assistance to ESL teachers, and reached…

This document consists of three years' worth (8 issues) of "Council Connections," the newsletter of the Reading Recovery Council of North America. Each issue offers brief articles, updates of Reading Recovery programs in various countries, messages from the organization's president, past president, and/or the executive director, updates…

Uses response journals to explore the ways fourth-grade students respond to literature. Finds factors necessary to mesh text and a reader's personal experiences: a classroom atmosphere that encourages risk-taking; daily opportunities to read and respond; a wide variety of choices in reading materials; modeling of good reading strategies; and…

Examines the journal of an experienced teacher supervising the teaching practices of a multilingual student teacher in a multi-ethnic classroom in Britain. Suggests that the difficulties of multilingual student teachers in appreciating the potential of bilingual education reflect conflicting models of teacher training, and that a shift to…

Describes how a college professor incorporates "commonplace books" into his courses, with reading and writing the focal practices in curriculum studies classrooms. He defines commonplace books as collecting places for various writings related to the courses. The books represent fragments of a variety of experiences in a variety of…

Provides a rationale to support an experiential and process-oriented approach to the development of discussion skills in a second language. Although English is used for exemplification, the approach could be used to develop discussion skills in any second language. (13 references) (Author/CK)

Describes an action research project that took place in the Johannesburg College of Education in the period immediately before and after South Africa's first democratic election in 1994. Student teachers from diverse social and cultural backgrounds were introduced to critical language awareness theory and encouraged to read texts critically and…