Reports the result of an experiment in a college level American Social Policy course to determine the effectiveness of a simulation as a teaching method which increases cognitive learning. Results are negative. Students attending lectures scored somewhat higher than students involved in the simulation. (Author/RM)

Chronicles a research project that collected and examined first-grade children's writing over a year. Develops a system for classifying the children's genres that has two major groups: writing about actions/events; and writing about objects/things. Describes emergent genres of writing from the children, looking beyond spelling. Cites active roles…

Reports on a study of 10 primary grade teachers in four multi-age classrooms (formed in response to a Kentucky state mandate to implement non-graded, multi-age, primary programs for children ages 5-9). Examines what teachers did to make language arts instruction work, and their continuing efforts and struggles to meet the needs of a wide variety…

Argues that classroom research is one feasible way for community college English faculty to (1) become knowledge makers; (2) overcome the false dichotomy that exists between teaching and scholarship in community colleges; (3) establish a professional identity; and (4) affirm the bond with the community of professional writing teachers. (RS)

Findings suggested that: (1) peer culture is not a unitary whole but rather a differentiated social system comprised of various groups and different types of players; (2) objects play an important role in peer culture as entry vehicles and social markers; and (3) play periods are social arenas in which the dynamics of the peer culture are enacted.…

Describes some of the primary features of educational criticism, an arts-based approach to qualitative inquiry. Examines the aims of this approach and discusses four dimensions of educational criticism: descriptive, interpretative, normative, and thematic. Addresses questions of rigor and identifies three criteria (consensual validation,…

Explores various ways self-selection (regarding what books to read or whether to read or write) during reading and writing supported six-year-old children's literacy development. (SR)

Observation of 740 classes examined the experiences that students in vocational, nonvocational, and business classes are having to determine if change is desirable. Findings revealed a typical business class environment, emphasis on technical skills, and limited opportunity for interaction or focus on work-related skills. (JOW)

Finds that teaching assistant argumentativeness was positively correlated with overall power use, and with use of referent and expert power. Shows significant differences between high and low argumentatives for overall power use, and for referent and expert power. (SR)

Examines the nature of the change in teacher-researcher relationships, tracing the character of the shift in the study of teaching and teacher education and discussing issues related to the equalization of participants' roles in the research process and the control of how data are interpreted and used. (SM)

Presents a view of mathematics education research from the perspective of a classroom teacher, including discussion of clinical interviews, understanding student understandings, scientific methodology, research describing practice, and teachers in charge of their own profession. (MKR)

Discusses common beliefs and flaws in classroom research. Distinguishes among three kinds of empirical educational investigations. Suggests research designs which are considered to be sensible, selective, sound, sensitive, and simple. Describes designs using multiple classrooms for instructional-intervention experiments. (KS)

Describes and explores a collaborative classroom research project between a secondary English teacher and a university education faculty member. Examines shifting power relations in the classroom, competing agendas, constraints imposed by the study's design, and differences in interpretation. (SR)

Examines the effects of a year-long program for using poetry daily in a second-grade classroom. Finds minor evidence of growth in students' concepts and attitudes about poetry (based on an objective survey instrument) but positive and lasting effects on children's attitudes (based on classroom observation of behavior). (RS)

Suggests that exploring the topic of boredom in the writing class offers an opportunity to help students become more self-conscious about aspects of their writing. Describes the process of investigation of "boredom," partly as a model and partly to indicate what was discovered. Discusses what students and professionals say about the…