Presents a questioning guide for identifying specific classroom issues, then devising a research question that can be systematically researched in the classroom. (HTH)

Reviews a study which shows that guidance for selecting books in the classroom has increased. Considers children's self-selection strategies as a function of the instructional program. (MG)

Discusses 10 rules of thumb for writing educational research reports that are concise and accessible. The principles include writing in terms of people, emphasizing the positive, editing for simplicity, and breaking any of the previously discussed rules when necessary. (HTH)

Describes a large-scale model of portfolio assessment that used papers collected from 27 fifth grade students throughout a school district in Durham, New Hampshire. Highlights information that can be gleaned from this approach to assessment, and notes that instruction should be adapted to respond to the results of the assessment. (MM)

Discusses the meanings of collaboration from the author's perspective as a participant in classroom research. Examines a primary grade project that combined collaborative research with staff development. Notes that while participants face a risk in sustained collaboration, these partnerships can stimulate learning for teachers, administrators,…

Discusses children's interest in names, and the importance of this interest for their developing literacy. (MM)

Examines the interrelationships between cinematic and literary works in terms of possible responses, or the possible worlds created when children encounter and create literary discourse. Notes that these responses reflect previous encounters with literature, film, and life. (MM)

Examines connections between children's social pretend play and their improvised classroom drama. Describes similarities and differences between language used to frame social pretend play and language used by teachers and students to frame the imaginary worlds of drama. (MM)

Explores how issues of power and identity are embedded within the cultures of a first-grade writing classroom. Explores the ways in which children's instructional stances--their responses to the ways they are positioned as writers in the classroom--affect their literacy learning. Presents the theoretical and research contexts in which educator's…

Discusses current research and issues concerning multilingual learners, and makes suggestions for school programs addressing bilingualism and multilingualism. (MM)

Describes a deliberation-oriented approach to curriculum evaluation, in which teachers, administrators, parents, community members, and students meet to determine issues and procedures related to curriculum evaluation. Summarizes findings from an initial attempt to implement such an approach. (MM)

Examines how prospective teachers can better understand the importance of interpretive moves and become more adept at asking literary questions. Argues that skills instruction often takes away from literary discourse. (MM)

Notes that researching life stories can shape students' sense of direction and purpose both within and beyond the classroom. Considers how the value of researching life stories increases as students move beyond the personal to the cross-generational significance of what they are investigating. Lists 32 picture books and information books on Hmong…

Explores how visual (pictorial) and verbal (linguistic) systems work together and influence each other as young children create symbol systems. Finds that, for young children, color plays a key role in communicating messages. Shows how art and writing (especially color and light) influence each other in children's literacy development. (SR)

Explains how a teacher education course (designed by the author using an adaptation of Paulo Freire's problem-posing methods) actually hampered students' development and learning. Describes how together the class and teacher recognized the discrepancy between the teacher's rhetoric and the course realities and adjusted the course to fit students'…