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.…

Developing students' ability to use multicultural perspectives and knowledge to think about literature, history, and society is emerging as an important part of a pluralistic approach to education. Am ethnographic study examined three innovative eleventh-grade literature-history classes as they were negotiated over 2 school years by a pair of…

"Sharing the ownership of knowing" (a constructivist concept of motivation for literacy learning) is a dynamic classroom interaction in which a teacher's constructivist epistemological stance facilitates students' sense of their own construction of meaning and the integrity of their own thinking. Sharing the ownership of knowing was one…

Differentiation practices are defined by the Scottish Office Education Department as the identification of, and effective provision for, a range of abilities in one classroom, such that pupils in a particular class need not study the same things at the same pace and in the same way at all times. This issue of the "Interchange" describes…

Students who traveled to the United States to study ("student sojourners") were asked in a study to describe their initial expectations of teacher communication. Three research questions were probed: (1) Do student sojourners have articulated expectations and norms for teacher communication? (2) Do student sojourners experience…

Since a robust curriculum is needed to combat illiteracy in Nigeria, a study investigated whether the 4P's model of reading instruction enhanced the performance of reading comprehension teachers, promoted classroom interactions, and enhanced the language competence of students more than the classical method. Subjects were final year students and…

Conducted at a public university that had long been overwhelmingly Anglo despite being located in a state noted for its linguistic and cultural diversity, an ethnographic study examined one adjunct writing program and the varied students it serves. Data sources were both numerous and varied--data were collected concurrently at the campus level and…

When beginning or experienced teachers lack control over pupils in their classrooms, they do not experience job satisfaction and become increasingly ineffective in their classroom work. Based on a review of the literature, this paper provides: (1) practical, workable strategies to assist experienced and inexperienced teachers to become more…

A study investigated the beliefs and practices of high school language arts teachers regarding mandated multicultural education in the language arts. Subjects, five tenured faculty in the language arts program of a midwestern high school, volunteered to be interviewed and have their classrooms observed while they conducted multicultural…

A study examined two high school English teachers' explorations of portfolio assessment and the effect of these explorations on their teaching and on students' understandings of their own learning and knowledge. The teachers (one with 28 years of experience, the other with 3 years teaching experience) taught at a public city school with an…

This study compares the attitudes of "somewhat" religious teachers toward teaching about religion in the public schools with the attitudes of very religious teachers. The sample consisted of public school teachers enrolled in elementary and secondary education courses at two Texas universities during the summer of 1995. Data were…

This study collected information regarding the direct and indirect management techniques employed by elementary teachers to control inappropriate student behavior and its relationship to discipline referral rates. The study also examined whether effective management techniques affected student on-task rates. A group of 270 elementary school…

This study examines the characteristics, concerns, and practices of elementary teachers who are members of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). The paper describes the process of data gathering through a review of the literature and a mailing of questionnaires to members of NCSS who identified themselves as elementary-focused in…

This volume, written by teachers for teachers, parents and administrators, presents an insightful, correlative view of the emotional needs of both the teachers and their students. Frontmatter includes: "Planning to Become a Teacher?" and "Needs of Children and Their Teachers." Papers included are: (1) "On the Teaching of Teachers" (C. A.…

This study examined the thinking and decision making of expert and novice teachers in three stages of decision making: practive (planning), interactive (actual teaching), and postactive (evaluative reflection). Novices in the study were five student teachers, and experts were their five cooperating teachers in a suburban elementary school. Data…