The major problem investigated was to assess the effectiveness of an instructional procedure designed to develop skill in questioning, as a teaching technique, by prospective science teachers. Subproblems investigated were to determine: (1) if skill developed during this instructional sequence would transfer to the student teaching experience; and…

A study of the objectives and teaching practices of an introductory college physics course was conducted by personally interviewing 24 instructors in six Oklahoma colleges and universities and audiotaping their 45 classes. The instructors' questions in classes were cross-classified by type and purpose. The question-types included directive,…

Emphasizing the need for process rather than product-oriented education, this paper introduces a new conceptual model for observing the classroom as a total process. The new model is a blending of dramaturgic concepts and theory with the classroom teaching/learning process. The author draws an analogy based upon Kenneth Burke's Dramatistic…

A course on communication in the classroom was designed as part of a program to bring education courses, taught by regular university faculty, to Indian reservations, making it possible for an Indian student to continue working while taking courses and to complete his degree in five years. This paper describes the objectives and philosophy of the…

The rationale and training procedure used in a three-day communication and leadership project in a junior high school located in a southern metropolitan area of approximately 200,000 population is described. The workshop reflected a commitment to interview developmentally in the desegregation process. Four general workshop goals were formulated;…

A study of the manner in which a teacher's arguments can present different messages about authority to learners is discussed. Two analyses of the concept of teaching are examined and the emphasis upon rationality in Western culture is placed in historical context. An analysis of the form of arguments is presented, including an argument-pattern…

The speech of elementary school teachers in two contexts (adult-adult conversation and the classroom) was examined for the use of stance-indicating devices, i.e. ways of conveying one's attitudes towards a proposition; independent evidence supports the notion that teachers' perception of social distance between themselves and their listeners…

Although in favor of developmental psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development, the author cautions about possible results of using moral reasoning discussions in the classroom. These include: (1) indoctrination, (2) moral authoritarianism, (3) relativism, (4) the "morality as medicine" syndrome, (5) and the "doing Kohlberg"…

This article presents a study that analyzed audio taped transcripts of students' interaction in two different kindergarten settings. Findings presented indicate that early classroom socialization has a significant impact on the communicative patterns of young children. Comparisons are made between open classroom and traditional classroom…

Research is reviewed on nonverbal behavior, in particular that related to the glance, facial expression, bodily movements, and personal space. Some implications for communication between teacher and students are considered and some suggestions are presented to teachers for eliminating nonverbal cues by which they may unwittingly communicate…

This article describes two types of classroom process research (process-product and descriptive) which are being funded by the National Institute of Education, and it analyzes the trend toward a greater emphasis on descriptive research. (MM)

In this essay, some thinking and research about language is discussed in relation to the socialization of children and to the shaping of the school curriculum. The author concludes that the communication gap between schools and students, an important force for socialization, grows larger every day. (JMD)

Contends that a linear approach to a social justice curriculum cannot be developed because subject matter requires allowance for unanticipated objectives and outcomes to emerge during the course of study. Thus, different models of curriculum development are appropriate for different subject matter. Considers views of social justice represented in…

Activities to help students overcome shyness in getting acquainted and speaking in class are offered by a high school teacher. (MF)

This study investigates "wait times" in elementary science classes-the pauses between a teacher's question and a student's answer and between a student's answer and a teacher's response. Among the findings were indications that longer "wait times" promote increased student participation in problem solving, decision making, the structuring of the…