The purposes of this study were to: (1) design a usable and valid modern verbal interaction analysis instrument and (2) to explore the verbalization taking place in selected ninth-grade physical science classrooms by utilizing the Modern Science Interaction Instrument (MSII). Two groups of ninth-grade physical science teachers participated. One of…

Positive, neutral, and negative verbal interaction data were collected from 2 schools in which 15 elementary summer school teachers interacted with 261 migrant and non-migrant students. These pupils were specifically identified as migrant or non-migrant. These data were then mpared with the teacher's perception of the pupil as migrant or…

A new method of coding verbal interaction was applied to 52 interviews with adults in a general medical screening clinic. "Average interaction profiles" for patients and physicians were determined that give quantitative indices of crucial aspects of the physician-patient relationship, such as the manner in which information is transmitted.…

Controversy, an aspect of small-group interactions, was investigated in 10 mixed-ability, mixed-sex, elementary math groups through analysis of dissension episodes. Results showed that boys and higher-ability students had significantly more prevailing answers and demonstrations. (Author/LMO)

Home and family conditions were found to have an effect on verbal interaction patterns between mothers and persons in the home. (Authors)

To investigate whether problem-based learning leads to conceptual change, the cognitive and metacognitive processes of a group of medical students were studied during the problem analysis phase, and their verbal communication and thinking processes were analyzed. Stimulated recall of the thinking process during the discussion detected a conceptual…

Forty college students of second-year French were used to study the extent to which individual learners exercise initiative in structuring classroom talk. Textual outcomes of four typical tasks for pairs were examined. Interactions were coded in four areas (topic, self-selection, allocation, and sequencing); results showed variation in the extent…

Reviewed and analyzed are studies on task-related verbal interactions among students in small groups in mathematics classrooms and their links to mathematics achievement. Factors that predict group interaction are considered and research-based strategies for shaping group interaction are discussed. (MDH)

Discusses an alternate method of examining the verbal interaction of mothers and their children in dyadic communication. The behavior of both mothers and children differed significantly according to the ages of the children involved. Acta Symbolica, 807 Jefferson Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38105. Subscription Rates: annually, $12.00 individuals,…

Interactions between teachers and multiply disabled students were videotaped, and procedures were developed to analyze the interactions, in order to assist the teachers in evaluating the relationship between their own and their student's communicative behavior. Coding categories were prepared to identify characteristics of the student's…

One hundred interactions involving 4,231 communicative acts between classroom personnel and multiply disabled students were videotaped. The resulting data were coded and analyzed, and showed that: (1) conventional communicative forms (e.g., speech, manual signs, conventional nonverbal expressions) were selected to convey information to students…

This study investigates the pattern of teacher questioning regarding three elements: sequence, student respondent, and cognitive process. The rationale for this type of teaching rests on the claims for teaching students the process of critical (reflective) thinking. In this type of teaching it is necessary to have data before the students. Only…