Examines the interaction of teachers and learners in their various activities along a continuum that extends from instructional to natural discourses and is determined by the way participants present themselves to one another and negotiate turns-at-talk, topics, and repairs. Suggests ways to broaden and diversify discourse options in the…

Suggests a more literal definition of "classroom management" in reference to the role of the teacher. By focusing on the three overlapping and interacting sets of responsibilities carried by the manager--to the task, to the group, and to the individual--this approach attempts to put into perspective the multiple functions played by the teacher.…

Investigated use of behavior alteration techniques in managing student misbehaviors. Found that inexperienced teachers are likely to employ the same strategies, regardless of misbehavior type or intensity: (1) appealing to student's self-esteem and (2) feedback. (PD)

Argues that social interaction with peers is a necessary part of children's internal structuring of spelling. Describes briefly two classroom experiments in which children responded to each other's invented spellings. (HTH)

Decries teachers' use of questions with the phrase "tell me," arguing that this locus of authority in the classroom interferes with children's understanding of the function of language. (HTH)

A participant in a British teacher workshop that focused on student talk describes the progress of the group toward defining the types of language they wanted to focus on in the classroom and the group's publication of weekly progress reports. (HTH)

Discusses the shortcomings of teacher preparation in the area of questioning. Proposes using two contrasting paradigms for developing and analyzing questions for use with different texts and for different purposes. (FL)

The limitations of the particular communicative situation in the foreign language classroom, in which students spend much of their time silent while the teacher speaks, need to be recognized before applying new teaching techniques. The profession must find new ways to promote the need, the desire, and the pleasure of communicating. (MSE)

Describes a program for teaching teachers to help children understand the special needs of handicapped children through the use of group discussions, agency experts, handicapped guests, role playing activities, visual aids, and field trips. (SB)

This book looks at an issue which is at the heart of every classroom, the role that talk plays in children's learning. Drawing on a substantial research base, the book provides useful suggestions to facilitate successful talk between teachers and children to improve learning and raise standards. Through analysing the talk that goes on in primary…

For teachers, demonstrating that the classroom is a safe environment for all students, and that respect is expected at all times, is vital. For these two things to occur, open lines of communication between the teacher and students are key. While preparing lesson plans as a first year graduate teaching assistant in composition, an instructor…

This topical bibliography and commentary discusses how the principles in first language acquisition can be applied to second language learning and summarizes a variety of techniques employed by teachers towards that end. It discusses first language acquisition, narrative strategies, conversational strategies, and creating contextual experiences.…

One intention that an instructor had for her new course called "Writing and Healing: Women's Journal Writing" was to make apparent the power of self-written text to transform the writer. She asked her students--women studying women writing their lives and women writing their own lives--to write three pages a day and to focus on change.…

A review of the educational research on humor use will answer many questions about how it works in the classroom. Humor can be classified in three ways, each with its own primary function: superiority theory--sociological function; relief theory--psychological function; and incongruity theory--intellectual function. Classes filled with relevant…