This is a down-to-earth, heart-to-heart book about what it takes to be an exceptional early childhood teacher. The author uses her experience as a classroom observer and a developmental psychologist to create a rationale for best practice--the reasoning behind the best (worst and average) classroom practice. Cindy Rzasa Bess examines a variety of…

An effective classroom, where teachers and students are communicating optimally, is dependent on using constructivist strategies, tools and practices. There are two major types of constructivism in the classroom: (1) Cognitive or individual constructivism depending on Piaget's theory, and (2) Social constructivism depending on Vygotsky's theory.…

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of cooperative learning on the achievement of Turkish prospective elementary school teachers' learning of the content of the Turkish language course and on their social interaction in the classroom. The theoretical question addressed was whether the positive interdependence within cooperative groups…

Framed within interactional sociolinguistics, microethnographic discourse analysis, and cognitive science, we examine how intercontextuality, collective memories, and classroom chronotopes were used in generating learning opportunities in a ninth-grade language arts classroom. Five consecutive videorecorded lessons were analyzed focusing on how…

The term "multiliteracies" was coined by the New London Group in 1996 to describe the emergence of new literacies and changing forms of meaning making in contemporary contexts of increased cultural and linguistic diversity. The proliferation of powerful, multimodal literacies means that previous conceptions of literacy as "writing…

The way teachers shape and handle their own feelings and those of their learners is central to the success of learning. Now in its second edition, "Teaching with Emotional Intelligence" shows how to manage this influential yet neglected area of learning and teaching. This practical book looks at how lecturers and teachers can develop and use their…

In this study, 600 school teachers completed a 116-item questionnaire consisting of questions regarding classroom communication as well as a general list of social skills. The aim of the study was to compare the self-perceptions, given by the teachers of art and the teachers of science and the male and female teachers to the statements of social…

This book calls for critical adaptations when theories of bilingual education, based on practices in the North, are applied to the countries of the global South. For example, it challenges the assumption that transitional models necessarily lead to language shift and cultural assimilation. Taking an ethnographically-based narrative on the purpose…

This qualitative study followed two graduates from a master of arts in the teaching of languages program, who had taught for at least 3 years, into their domain of work in public school teaching. The study was carried out to better understand the day-to-day work, challenges, and social and interactive contexts in which language teachers engage. It…

When trying to utilize class discussions as an effective pedagogical tool, teachers need to be aware of the conflicts that may arise due to issues of personal and cultural representation, linguistic differences, and misunderstandings of the tacit "rules" for participation. Because of cultural and linguistic variances in student populations, not…

This qualitative study investigates the relationship between learning opportunities and teacher cognition in the context of a videoconferencing (VC) project for foreign languages (FL) in French primary schools. Six generalist primary teachers were followed throughout the initial six-month stage of the initiative, and data were collected from…

Conceptual change instruction recognizes that students bring personal, or naive, conceptions to the classroom, which they use to explain their world, interpret situations, and create meaning (Driver et al. 2007). But what happens when students' personal conceptions are inconsistent with experts' views of scientific knowledge? Even after direct…

This paper draws on research into teachers' and pupils' perceptions of talk in school. Drawing on sociocultural perspectives, it shows that expectations of talk are grounded in particular sociocultural values that represent hegemonic interpretations of the quality of talk and classroom discourse. Although much has been written about classroom…

This study examined the use of technology by eighth grade students and teachers and perceptions of students and teachers toward technology use in the classroom and home. A mixed design method was selected to collect and analyze the data. Face-to-face interviews, field notes, and national survey results were used to triangulate the data. Three…

Research indicates that when interactive whiteboards are used well they can increase student engagement and learning (Glover, Miller, Averis & Door, 2007; Schuck & Kearney, 2007, 2008). This means it is important to educate future teachers in how to use interactive whiteboards and how to incorporate them successfully into their teaching.…