Reflects on a research project conducted by two professionals in language arts instruction investigating the curriculum decisions and book selection among classroom teachers. Recounts the researchers' own attempt to make sense of new ideas in the field and the application and relevance of those ideas to classroom practice. (TB)

Examines students' ability to understand definitions of novel verbs--in 2 experiments upper elementary students received definitions of pseudowords paired with sentences using those words and evaluated use as appropriate for definition given. Finds students' judgments about these sentences were not substantially different from chance, suggesting…

Proposes a model of kindergartners' development of literacy resources. States that, throughout the year, kindergartners completed tasks similar to those typically used in their different instructional programs, and factor analysis identified five factors for use in a path analysis. Finds various factors influenced outcome variables, represented by…

Describes the use of adolescent fiction to encourage multicultural self-development among primarily European American preservice teachers in literacy and social studies methods courses. Discusses four major themes that emerged from this analysis: struggle, resistance, heightened awareness, and the modification of plans for future action. (SR)

Introduces the special issue of the journal, which is devoted to Exploratory practice (EP), a form of practitioner research. All of the articles are concerned with a particular approach to practitioner research in language teaching and learning. EP is explained, focusing on the development of its practices and its principles over the last 10…

Presents tools for objectifying technological education as it has been approached in the form of disciplines for French children ages 11-15 since 1960. Characterizes provisionally stabilized disciplines and identifies their historical development. Identifies four distinct methods that give evidence of the instability affecting the framework of…

Proposes that classroom studies in the Teaching English as a Second or Other Language (TESOL) field tend to subscribe to either of the following two normative orders: Progressive liberalism or cultural relativism, without reflexively recognizing and meta-analyzing these normative frameworks and their social, historical, and political situatedness.…

Argues that writing should play a more prominent role in classroom-based studies of second language acquisition. Contends that an implicit emphasis on spoken language is the result of the historical development of the field of applied linguistics and parent disciplines of structuralist linguistics, linguistic anthropology, and child language…

Long's article "Inside the Black Box" postulated that what happens inside the classroom is the most important factor in student performance. Here, Long's findings are reexamined, the benefits of more naturalistic inquiry are discussed, and a balanced qualitative and quantitative approach toward classroom foreign language learning research is…

Describes nine entries from the ERIC database that deal with civil liberties. Topics include the teaching of the morality of citizenship, censorship in schools, classroom research in the humanities, development of human-rights laws in the international community, and the addition of peace education to the curriculum. (KO)

Examines strategies that students use to signal comprehension problems in classrooms, specifically, requests for clarification. Finds strategies differ with regard to the type and amount of communicative effort required of participants. (MS)

Describes the results of a study of how four new teachers framed and interpreted their daily concerns during their first year teaching. Examines several collective themes that emerge from discussions and interviews. Presents an episode from each teacher's classroom. Explains how the results of the research are being used to refine a teacher…

Discusses results of functional assessments for three students referred for disruptive behavior. A descriptive assessment was first conducted to select one of three hypotheses for the behavior: teacher attention, peer attention, or escape from academic tasks. For each student, a different hypothesis was selected and the brief functional analysis…

Presents perspectives of constructionist and conversation analysis in a study of interactive processes in literate activity. Describes the interaction among four Spanish-English students while one student generates a story. Finds four types of coordinated action by students that allowed students to control their own literacy learning. Discusses…

Discusses literacy experiences in a multiage classroom, noting different kinds of groupings and showing how the teacher grouped and regrouped the children on a typical school day. Argues that flexible grouping is an effective organizational approach appropriate to any classroom. (SR)