Discusses how a secondary school English teacher focuses not on the carefully plotted beginnings and endings of lessons but the middle moments, which surrender first and last things to concentrate on expressions of creative power. (RS)

Investigates success factors of Anglo-American teachers who work effectively with African-American children in urban schools. Presents profiles of four such teachers. Reveals five themes: general characteristics of the teachers; classroom behaviors and strategies that facilitate learning; satisfaction with teaching in urban schools;…

Discusses dimensions necessary to preschool teachers' interactions with children, noting that they do not add to teachers' workload but do require a shift in focus. Dimensions discussed include listening, social skills, playing, and touching. (HTH)

Finds that instructor verbal-immediacy behavior was positively related to: a student's willingness to talk in class (with gender not a factor for this outcome); and to a student's perceived learning. Finds that while students perceived more learning from a professor of the same gender, the effect was strongly mediated by instructor…

Arguments against teachers asserting their own views about controversial issues say that neutrality enables students to develop autonomous reflection. Others claim that a nonneutral stance is morally preferable. There are some teaching situations in which a neutral stance may not be an option. (SK)

Classroom incivilities play a critical role in faculty teaching careers and are important determinants of student learning experiences. Faculty and student perceptions of 24 faculty behaviors and 27 student classroom behaviors were surveyed. Faculty generally rated behaviors more strictly than did students. Areas of similarity and differences are…

The description of one student's experiences illustrates the need for early identification of, and programming for, gifted students. Factors influencing the reluctance of classroom teachers to identify young students as gifted are discussed, and mental models are introduced as the underlying reason for this resistance. Suggestions for change are…

Examines white teachers' perceptions of racism in their schools. A survey of 222 midwestern teachers indicated that most operated from an impaired consciousness about racism. Nearly half attributed racial problems to blacks. However, 40% perceived racism as coming from white colleagues, parents, or students. Most of those who witnessed racism by…

Assesses predictors of teachers' responsible environmental behavior (REB). Stepwise multiple-regression analysis showed that most of the parsimonious set of predictors of REB for all teachers included perceived knowledge of environmental-action strategies (KNOW), intention to act (IA), and perceived skill in using environmental-action strategies…

Explored the forms and functions of ritual in structuring teaching in preschool settings. Found that rituals have both invariant qualities that stabilize the framework within the school system and variant qualities that foster personalized and flexible approaches to teaching. When teachers attend to rituals, rituals have a greater pedagogical…

Describes several riddle and game settings used in preschool classrooms, reports observations of responses from young children, and suggests avenues of intervention. Addresses importance of the teacher's role, careful orchestration of questions and discussion, listening with skill, and appropriate positive feedback in assisting children in…

Examines whether a teacher's managerial statements could be assessed as sequences and if a scripting procedure could be used to modify these sequences while retaining the overall structure of teacher/student interactions. Results show that the scripted interaction sequence increased levels of appropriate play behavior among children (N=5). (RJM)

To deliver powerful presentations to parents, teachers should prepare handouts; indicate preferences for being contacted; find out what information parents have already received; provide a signup sheet for individual conferences; be organized, clear, concise, and cordial; deflect unrealistic suggestions; leave time for questions; anticipate…

Finds that, in making "good reader" judgments, upper-elementary children mentioned 15 separate criterial categories, clustered into four major category groupings, most frequently referencing the "public performance/fluency" category (word recognition, word analysis, and reading rate), but also mentioning "teacher practices,""affect," and…

Explains and illustrates the features of practical argument engagement, noting it is one way to understand why teachers do what they do. Observations, interviews, and dialogs with teachers illustrate that, by working with partners to examine actions occurring in their daily work, teachers can enhance their capacity for reflection, change beliefs…