A study addressed the problem of making accurate descriptions of how teachers in first-grade classrooms help their students learn to read and write. It also related the approaches to reading instruction that teachers use to their students' views of reading and their achievement at the end of first grade. For the study, information was gathered…

This leader's manual on interpersonal communications consists of materials for a workshop, including instructions for leaders and hand-outs for participants. The purpose of the workshop is to give teachers knowledge and skills of behavior applicable to: (1) face-to-face communication; (2) individual styles of communicating; (3) group and…

The English Department at Portland State University (Oregon) sponsored a roundtable discussion (revolving around classroom practice, perspectives, pedagogies, and methodologies) of public school, community college, and university English teachers in the winter of 1991 and expanded the dialogue into a focus group during the summer. A survey…

Declining school quality is one of the most serious problems facing Third World countries--particularly in Africa. Economic constraints limit opportunities to enhance teacher morale and performance even while upgrading teachers has become the central component of most efforts to reverse educational decline. While the most powerful incentives…

A study of teachers' perceptions concerning intellectual freedom and book selection and use in the elementary school is described in this paper. A questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 452 public elementary school classroom teachers in Minnesota. Surveys were completed by teachers for a response rate of 83%. Results indicated that: (1) 20%…

Presenting findings from a wide-ranging study, this book considers the present state of literature teaching in American middle and secondary schools. Probing both context and the instructional approaches, the book shows a discipline staffed by teachers better educated than their predecessors but carrying heavy class loads and isolated from current…

In an effort to demonstrate how quality literature can engage children in reflective thinking about stories, themselves, and the world, this book suggests children's literature worthy of discussion, shows how interactions work, and encourages adults to bond with children. The book begins with a chapter on how to use the book and a chapter on the…

A study examined the ways teachers and children in a preschool classroom enacted informal book-reading and other informal book-related events. Four key patterns in children's activities and teachers' curricular responses were identified: (1) children naturally selected their own "themes" for reading at the book center, and often these themes were…

A professor finds the use of stories and storytelling, whether first-hand stories or second-hand stories, whether oral stories or stories provided through media or mediated channels, to be invaluable instructional tools in his communication classes. They personalize his classes, encourage a sense of camaraderie among class members, help illustrate…

A number of research projects in the field of English education and literacy are beginning to yield findings about both instruction and achievement in a variety of circumstances. Findings across the projects point to three critical components that make a difference in student performance: connections, conversation, and exploration and analysis.…

Interviews were conducted with 20 out of 40 primary teachers who, 3 or 4 years earlier, had participated in inservice workshops on Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI), a research-based approach that emphasizes using children's mathematical knowledge to teach mathematics and who had consented to do the interviews. Although all but one teacher were…

This study examined the ways in which teachers of English as a second language (ESL) perceive the semantic and syntactic constraints that govern word use and the strategies they use to explain lexical anomalies to students. Twelve native speaking ESL teachers from 2 university-level intensive English programs were asked to identify, categorize,…

This study identified the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed by teachers and other school staff to encourage high levels of parental involvement. It also developed an evaluation instrument of these factors for future use. The first phase of the project encompassed a review of the literature on teachers' roles in encouraging parental…

An action research study examined a teacher's developing collaborative practices in her secondary curriculum development and instructional methods class. The class was composed of 14 women ranging in age from 21 to approximately 50 in a medium sized southwestern university. Data were collected through a reflective journal and from certain student…

A case study examined implementation of a critical literacy perspective (in both course content and course processes) in a Master's level course in the supervision of reading. Subjects were 10 married, white, female teachers. The course engaged in the interrogation of the teachers' literacy beliefs, teaching approaches, and schools' curricula in…