Teachers and students must build semantic connections between words of the text and already familiar ways of speaking, integrating the formal language of the subject into their own ways of speaking. This article demonstrates how classroom dialogue can help make textbook language part of the language of the students. (IAH)

Explores the impact of classroom environment on curriculum implementation. Provides historical background for this area of study, describes instruments for assessing prosocial behavior, and examines studies of teacher and student perception of classroom environment. Reports on two studies that combine qualitative and quantitative methods, and…

Survey data from 1,069 students in a small private college were used to assess why students offer comments or raise questions in class. Results indicate that class traits and student traits explained the most variance; neither professors' gender nor professors' interpersonal style played a central role in class participation. (Author/MSE)

This study evaluated a training sequence designed to increase an interdisciplinary school team's response sensitivity and consistency toward the perceived communication of children with profound mental disabilities. After the training, all four participants recognized more child behaviors as communicative. However, participants' response…

Examined parents' and teachers' expectations about kindergarten and children's strategies for functioning in the classroom. Describes the experiences of children in a multilingual classroom in which the teacher was often unable to give verbal cues to the students in their native languages, exemplifying typical moments in which language minority…

Navajo children's silence in the classroom may be related to unwillingness to put themselves above peers and to the culturally defined role of pupil as silent observer. Interviews with 16 Navajo and non-Navajo teachers of Navajo children examined their attitudes toward student silence, classroom strategies used to accommodate silence, and teacher…

This brief literature review addresses three areas related to students who are deaf or hard of hearing in mainstream classroom settings: (1) factors contributing to successful classroom communication; (2) classroom amplification; and (3) alerting and other communication devices. Various devices are described and compared. (Author/DB)

A law professor describes his experience in teaching a seminar law school course about the abortion debate, including efforts to allay student concerns about teacher partiality, course design and content, criticisms received, and classroom interaction over the issues. (MSE)

Examination of the relationship between academic learning and group relations suggests that the study of each can inform the other. A partnership between the study of group relations and the study of literary theory could give new insights into teaching and learning as discursive practices, power relations in the college classroom, and sources of…

A pedagogical model for transitional English bilingual classrooms was developed to meet the goals of teacher training and guidance, program evaluation, and empirical validation of bilingual theories. The model defines and integrates theoretical principles useful for pedagogical application in four dimensions: activity structures, language of…

Creating opportunities and encouraging student-centered questioning requires a special teacher-student dynamic. Students need to be empowered to ask questions. The article explores what teachers can learn from questions students ask, focusing on learning outcomes for teachers, and using a second-grade lesson on Harriet Tubman as an example. (SM)

A Canadian university teacher of Native languages assessed the effectiveness of personal acquaintance with students, realistic reassurance, and avoidance of threatening behaviors for preventing and reducing school anxiety among Native students. Five case histories illustrate the successes and limitations of this approach. (Author/SV)

A study examined the conversations of eight groups of high school students in a level three Spanish class during a jigsaw speaking task, and compared their language use patterns with those of intermediate-level learners of English as a Second Language. Results suggest both similarities and differences. Choice of language is also considered. (17…

Provides working blueprints for a university technology lab built specifically for construction science students and faculty. More than just housing for computer workstations, the facility is intentionally designed as a medium for better communication and instruction. A future in which distance learning is the norm is addressed. (KRN)

Describes factors that impact faculty evaluations made by students. Discusses different teaching styles and how student evaluations may be influenced by teaching style. Provides suggestions for faculty assessments. Reviews methods used by English universities, noting differences between larger research institutions and smaller liberal arts…