Examines classroom language learning from the perspective of research and teaching. Looks at the classroom as a special social situation; identifies eight features of the classroom as culture and applies them to the language class. Argues that the classroom has its own communicative potential for language learning. (SED)

This study assessed the effects of learning computer programing on children's cognitive style, metacognitive ability, cognitive development, and ability to describe directions. Eighteen children (age six) received one of two 12-week treatments: LOGO computer programing or computer-assisted instruction. Results indicated programing may influence…

Presents a historical overview of the introduction of the major reading comprehension assessments, showing that the predominant approaches were shaped by the prevailing educational measurement milieu and were implemented largely in response to public pressure. Argues in favor of a naturalistic reading comprehension assessment for evaluating those…

Describes how an inner-city sixth-grade teacher with an unusual approach to literacy got children to act according to new expectations before the first day of the school year was over. Discusses the research in relation to other findings on teacher effectiveness. (CMG)

Notes that computer based reading programs are proving to be powerful and flexible tools in reading to reading disabled and intellectually handicapped students. Reviews current research showing promise of wider classroom use of computers. (FL)

Reforms of educational practice arise from attractiveness of new ideas rather than from research findings because researchers import frameworks from other disciplines rather than using actual classroom phenomena as a basis for conceptual apparatuses and methods. (JW)

Results of this study indicate that teachers of classes with mean and above mean I.Q.'s tend to encourage more responsiveness from their students, give more feedback on student performance, teach more difficult material, summarize important components of lessons, and answer fewer of their own questions. (Author/RW)

"Using Action Research to Foster Positive Social Values" provides teachers with a unique framework in which to consider classroom violence. It uses actual case studies and working models done through classroom research to produce more effective classrooms that foster positive social values. The author lays out a theoretical framework for: (1)…

A discussion of the relationship between language teaching and research begins by defining research as a systematic process of inquiry in which the researcher poses a question or questions, collects relevant data, analyzes and interprets it, and makes the results accessible to others. It looks at the simplistic but persistent distinction between…

A study investigated whether using literature circles in the study of non-fiction improved student attitudes about reading and improved comprehension while developing self-confidence and cooperation. A purposeful sample of five students from a combined grade 5/6 class were chosen based on their negative responses about attitude and ability…

This study was done to see if sixth grade students could improve their drawing abilities by looking at lines more abstractly--by drawing a picture viewing the original upside down and comparing it to the same student's drawing done viewing the original right side up. Pairs of works were scored on the basis of line quality, proportion, and likeness…

To set the scene, this report begins with the description of the classroom practice and activities of an English teacher at a technical high school in Miami. The report states that a number of the activities that occurred in the class constitute what many scholars in the field of English/language arts studies consider examples of best, or…

One especially productive avenue of research is the close analysis of classroom talk. In the micro-ethnographic approach used in this study, conversation is not simply a metaphor, but becomes the unit of analysis. For the study, one key element to the functioning of thinking communities is the way they are co-constructed by participants. While all…

One of the hottest literacy topics currently is "balanced literacy"--the centrist position of experts in the teaching and learning of literacy. Balanced literacy programs utilize both explicit skill instruction and authentic text. A study documented and discovered the enacted practices of an exemplary first grade teacher (with 24…

This paper describes a study in which a group of young African-American children responded to literature in a multiage primary classroom setting. This naturalistic study sought to: identify the modes of response preferred by the African-American children in this class, examine the content of those responses for evidence of links to ethnicity, and…