A discussion of the Socratic method for college-level teaching looks at the three primary components of the method (systematic questioning, inductive reasoning, and universal definitions) and several additional relevant elements, including the testing of hypotheses and use of background information. One teacher's classroom techniques are…

Offers a narrative based on a real event, in the form of a "docustory," describing that moment when teaching worked--when, in an instructional setting, communication was "perfect,""best," or "excellent." Describes a retired teacher's memories of four students who taught him what it was to be a teacher. (SR)

Offers a narrative based on a real event, in the form of a "docustory," describing that moment when teaching worked--when, in an instructional setting, communication was "perfect,""best," or "excellent." Describes a university course that involves performance and oral history, in which students perform stories of their own or others' loss or…

Offers a narrative based on a real event, in the form of a "docustory," describing that moment when teaching worked--when, in an instructional setting, communication was "perfect" or "excellent." Describes a watershed moment during the campus unrest of the 1960s when a professor learned it is morally wrong for teachers to play power games with…

Asks how teachers can communicate in such a way as to compel students to think critically about the content and the inherent social relations and underlying ideology of a course. Views the classroom as a dramatic, hence rhetorical, environment. Draws on Brechtian theory to suggest three communication principles for inciting critical thinking:…

Examines student perceptions of instructor compliance-gaining behavior. Finds differences among perceptions at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester and that greater affective and cognitive learning was associated with less use of antisocial compliance-gaining techniques and more use of prosocial techniques. (SR)

Outlines the Conversational Discussion Group framework, an approach to help teachers shift from traditional, teacher-led discussions to peer discussions about literature. Discusses several questions that teachers ask as they make this shift from centralized discussion structures. (SR)

Presents effective techniques for leading productive classroom discussions, noting that the techniques increase teachers' and students' abilities to speak and listen. Discusses creating a supportive classroom climate, including all students, and using instructional language. (SR)

Examines the relationship of student questions to teacher comments in college classrooms across the university. Finds 6 categories of student questions (with an average of 3.6 student questions asked per hour of instruction), 8 categories of antecedent teacher comments, and 7 categories of consequent teacher comment. Considers explanations and…

Asserts that sexist communication (including gender doublespeak and sex role stereotyping) perpetuates social and educational injustices. Discusses classroom communication patterns, how to remove sexist language, and how to become aware of classroom prejudices. Offers techniques to help improve communication skills. (PRA)

After reviewing recent research on child language development under age five, this article discusses classroom discourse and identifies factors that may promote or inhibit pupils' mastery of the later phases of linguistic development. (30 references) (Author/LB)

Found that learning-disabled (LD) children used more task-relevant private speech than normally achieving classmates during academic seatwork, an effect that was especially pronounced for those LD children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Implications for intervention and future research methodology are discussed. (MDM)

Explains how brain separates foreground from background in response to its continual need to simplify the surrounding environment; discusses educational/counseling implications of growing understanding of relevant brain mechanisms and processes; and suggests nontechnical explanations and discussion ideas that counselors can use when working with…

Discusses, in a conversation-analytic investigation, the forms of organization that allow specific items of classroom discourse (words, phrases, up to whole turns at talk) to be corrected by subsequent items. Central to the discussion is an analytic distinction between self-correction and other correction. (GLR)

Examines college students' resistance decisions in the classroom. Finds a greater likelihood of using teacher-owned techniques (teacher is at fault) with nonimmediate teachers and student-owned strategies (student assumes responsibility) with immediate teachers. Finds that neither teachers' compliance-gaining strategy type nor students' gender…