This study examined visual information processing and learning in classrooms including both deaf and hearing students. Of particular interest were the effects on deaf students' learning of live (three-dimensional) versus video-recorded (two-dimensional) sign language interpreting and the visual attention strategies of more and less experienced…

This article examines the critical didactic incidents (CDIs) method used by European researchers in didactics. Originally designed by Flanagan (1954) in psychology, the CDIs method is based on qualitative accounts and analysis of critical moments in the teaching process when content is brought into play. The article reviews the use of critical…

The purpose of this study is to construct and validate a scale of perceived teacher immediacy from a Chinese cultural perspective. Based on the immediacy-exchange theories that emphasize the core role culture plays in the assessment of immediacy, this study argues that the validity and reliability of existing teacher verbal and nonverbal immediacy…

The use of humor in teaching has been linked to learning in several studies, although the research has been equivocal. The various types of humor used by teachers have also been investigated but not in terms of what students view as appropriate and inappropriate uses of humor. Participants in this study were asked to generate examples of…

Classrooms often get the short shrift when it comes to designing a space that allows for optimum hearing conditions for students and speaking conditions for teachers. Over the last few years, increasing concern from state regulators and facility designers has focused greater attention on improving acoustics. The main acoustical issues to consider…

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…

Asymmetry in classroom discourse, typified by teachers' frequent use of inauthentic initiating question turns, does not afford the best opportunities for the learning of language skills. More favourable conditions would appear to be associated with collaborative discourse patterns that display genuine interest in the child's contribution and build…

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'…

Teacher should strive to be more than the authority in the classroom identifying right versus wrong relating to problem solving. Identifying and emphasizing what aspects of an answer are mathematically correct improves students' confidence to tackle challenging problems and they view themselves as mathematical problem solvers.

This article argues that "triadic dialogue" (Lemke, 1990), much criticized in the past, has an important role to play in L2 learning and that its effectiveness should be judged in accordance with the particular pedagogical goals that it is made to serve. Drawing on three recent studies of L2 classrooms in a variety of instructional settings, the…

PEPNet's "Perspectives" is the collaborative newsletter of the four PEPNet regional centers. This newsletter combines each centers individual strengths into a single resource that can be used on a national level. This issue focuses on the following topics: (1) PEPNet FAQs on Web, in Print; (2) Some Speech-to-Text FAQs; (3) Speech-to-Text…

This study examined the implementation and outcomes of a laptop program initiative in a predominantly low-income, minority school. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, analyzed, and compared with students in non-laptop classrooms within the same school. Results of the study revealed that in the hands of well prepared teachers,…

This study integrates the purposes of communication, i.e. in-class and on-line discussions, with problem solving skills in the process of learning professional knowledge of pre-service teachers. It attempts to foster both comprehension of professional knowledge and the attitude of contextualizing knowledge with situational factors. More…

Middle-grade students like to talk. This natural "gift of gab" may at times be suppressed by teachers who prefer to impart knowledge rather than allow students to participate in its development. Intelligence is a social practice. Students become adept at socializing their intelligence if they are encouraged to talk in meaningful and constructive…

Presumably, everyone shares the understanding that teaching for social justice means providing students with a supportive learning environment that is just, fair, democratic, and even compassionate. In reality, people are probably using this term to mean many things without actually embracing it as a perspective for educating students in urban…