Reflects on one teacher's strategies for facilitating discourse in his classroom--creating an environment in which student ideas are the basis of discussion yet ensuring productive mathematics. (YDS)

Describes the incorporation of thematic teaching into the author's Reading-Writing Workshop class. Shares a few activities from one coming-of-age unit that increased engagement and helped students generate writing topics that genuinely interested them and related to the same theme. (SG)

Explores complexities that arose as the author engaged in feminist literacy research in a fifth-grade classroom where the author worked collaboratively with the teacher to implement literature discussion circles. Notes the need to disrupt her own assumptions regarding power, the expert position, and her need for maintaining comfort. Sheds light on…

Explores how two students participated in classroom talk about written text. Finds students participated in talk in complicated, devolving ways over a school year--one participated in class talk about text with an assumption of expertise, only to lose credibility when his teacher expected richer insights; the other participated with such talk with…

Shares the authors' instructional practices with colleagues, in hopes of generating ideas for more effective online instruction. Discusses methods of instruction of key courses and communication characteristics in online discussion groups. Concludes that students can learn and demonstrate their learning through online discussion. (SG)

Employees in 5 organizations (n=104) participated in career-focused discussions. Analysis of 162 effective and 36 ineffective discussions showed that effective discussions produced multiple, often long-lasting, outcomes including clearer future direction, self-awareness, opportunity awareness, and better feelings about oneself and work. (Contains…

Proposes that disability theory can complement existing work in gender, sexuality, race, class, and genre. Argues that disability enables insight. Discusses representations of disability in literature and films. Outlines the author's experience of teaching a number of composition classes focusing on disabilities. (PM)

This paper describes and evaluates a project which had a large number of students read a few classic works in more than one class to promote discussion of texts among students and faculty. Survey data from students and faculty indicate the project's success. (Author/DB)

Discusses the use of exercises in groups with an emphasis on selection and effective processing. Processing skills are described and practical examples of questioning skills are given. (Author/TE)

Analyses qat sessions (small-group social gatherings centered on the use of a mild, euphoric stimulant, qat) in North Yemen. Explores their communicative form and function. (SR)

Describes a high school class discussion of Kathryn Byer's poem, "Cornwalking." Notes that this description serves as both a case study and a lesson plan. Observes that students can respond to modern poetry by telling their own stories and "puzzling" their way into meaning. (MM)

Developed behavior observation system for group supervision, designed to measure occurrence of verbal problem-solving behavior during group supervision meetings. Obtained reliability data from four counseling teams' group supervision meetings at residential facility for children with social and emotional problems. Results indicated that system had…

Assesses Persuasive Arguments Theory (PAT) assumptions about argument and argument influence. Reviews and critiques PAT, advancing five hypotheses to test its assumptions. Finds little correspondence between cognitive and discussion arguments in number, content, or persuasiveness. Discusses implications for PAT and for the role of communication in…

Instead of offering a curriculum for lifelong learning, schools are governed by a turnstile mentality. To help students become wiser education consumers requires intensive dialogue about problems, cases, and controversial issues. Educational reforms that fail to focus on teacher-student and student-student interaction or on sharpening critical…

A program for a family support group for grandparents and extended family of children with developmental delays is described. The program provides a unique opportunity for members to discuss adjustment reactions, develop supportive roles, and strengthen the entire family constellation. (Author/DB)