The purpose of this study is to contribute to the existing literature on the foreign language learning of students with LLDs by conducting a comprehensive investigation of the performance of three students in middle school foreign language classes in a suburban school district in southwestern Pennsylvania. More specifically, this study documents…

A study which replicated previous research focused on the perceived affiliative communication behaviors of teachers within the classroom, their relationship to student learning, and the interrelationship among those behaviors. Six hypotheses were formulated based on already published literature. These hypotheses suggest that student perceptions of…

In a multicase study, adolescents at five culturally diverse sites across the United States engaged in face-to-face interactions as they reflected and reported on their perceptions of their own and other students' experiences in discussing regularly assigned content area texts. A social constructionist perspective provided the framework for the…

Past research has focused on conflict and power between students and teachers from elementary school through high school. A study explored the long neglected area of the college environment and treated the classroom as a unique culture. The construct of challenge behavior is defined as student behaviors that are contrary to implicit or explicit…

This study explored teacher and student perspectives of a specific event in an early childhood classroom. The study replicates previous research on the construct of positionings to study social interaction in a prekindergarten integrated classroom. Subjects were one teacher and one 5-year-old student. A 20-minute segment of videotape was observed…

A program for improving the quality of student writing was developed. The targeted population consists of kindergarten, first- and second-grade students in an expanding middle class community, located in a suburb southwest of Chicago. The problem is documented through data collected from writing samples, anecdotal checklists, student interviews,…

If the educational methods of Paulo Freire are imposed on Thais and other Asians, the outcome may not be the reinforcing of, but instead the losing of, their cultural identities. Freire reveals what are vital cultural assumptions for his pedagogy when defining "freedom, silence, confrontation, communication, and self" in "Pedagogy…

The reform of mathematics and science teaching and learning in school classrooms has been underway for the past two decades. A review of the literature performed on the ERIC CD ROM system yielded a selected bibliography of 154 items identifying several areas of current activity that are included in research and development projects focused on…

Teaching via technology, whether using computers, the Internet, television, or video networks, is a growing field that is a Pandora's box of benefits and dangers. A one-way, non-interactive English telecourse combines televised lessons with textbooks and study guides but does not allow students to interrupt in real-time to interact with the…

SYMLOG, a method for capturing group members' perceptions of their interactions, is a useful research methodology which can also be used to teach group competencies. Drawing from social psychology, management, and communication disciplines, researchers using SYMLOG have captured issues of leadership, cohesion, and group processes over time. Using…

A grounded theory study examined six high school teachers' conceptions of classroom discussion, and their purposes for using classroom discussion. Data were gathered during in-depth interviews and a think-aloud task in which teachers rank ordered five vignettes of classroom interaction. Both urban and suburban high school teachers were involved.…

When a student begins to appropriate an idea from classroom discourse, the idea is likely to be perceived incompletely because the speaker's understanding of the idea cannot be conveyed in its entirety through the discourse. Under the guidance of the teacher, the discourse serves to stimulate further development of the idea itself, the development…

An English-as-a-Foreign Language instructor's repertoire of effective classroom activities is extended not only through acquiring useful, new ideas, but through adapting these activities (new and old) for varied needs and purposes. This article focuses on the potential for adaptation of one popular, communicative activity: "Find someone who..."…

In an effort to determine the underlying roots of kindergartners' unruly behavior during dismissal time, this study examined the children's conversational topics during classroom dismissal routines. Using participant observation as the primary method of data collection, researchers observed seven dismissals, each lasting approximately 45 minutes,…

Intellectuals lament the disappearance of community, a nostalgia for the small town that has supposedly given way to the anonymous crowds of the city. Likewise, scholars have talked about "discourse communities" in romantic terms, referring to a place where all share the same values. However, a more urban view of social life, in which…