Presents a lesson plan designed to enhance student understanding of the value of history study. Focuses on David Laushey's 10 values of the study of history. Creates a series of discussion vignettes based on these concepts. Includes questions for study and a list of vignettes for classroom discussion and problem solving. (NL)

Describes a classroom demonstration using differential reinforcement to shape student participation in a small psychology laboratory. Concludes that the technique was useful for illustrating how reinforcers shape behavior. Suggests that the demonstration facilitated understanding of operant conditioning procedures and encouraged more equitable…

Describes a program in which undergraduate psychology students submitted questions about homosexuality prior to a panel discussion by a gay rights organization. Suggests that such a program helps students understand that discrimination and abuse are not justifiable responses to homosexuals. Includes questions about family relationships,…

These activities focus on the following topics: winter olympic sports; women on the French ski team; French winter sports resorts; and sport, drugs, and politics. (SR)

Describes aspects of a year-long classroom research project designed to explore ways to teach discussion skills. Points out how teacher authority and gender roles influence classroom interaction. Maintains that analyzing their own discourse, students can learn about the authority they must assume (and its nuances) to participate in classroom…

Describes a "Booktalk" program at a middle school, in which groups of parents and students read the same book and then gathered at the school to discuss the books. Notes that, after group discussion, students wrote letters to their parents about the book and the discussion and that parents wrote letters back to their children as well. (RS)

Reports on a study using a teacher education method centering about situations lived by teachers that engage participants in "reflection-on-practice" exercises. Although the two supervisors discussed similar items during postobservation conferences, one was adept in using his remarks as springboards for probing teachers' thoughts about…

Describes three approaches teachers can use to help students understand the computation of numbers: calculator explorations, problem solving, and discussion topics. Specific examples are provided for primary and upper grades. (MDM)

Presents a classroom discussion episode broken into narrative segments with the teacher's reflective commentary on each. Uses this narrative to help understand the nature of student response to literature and the demands that response-centered teaching makes on teachers. (SR)

Argues that teachers should encourage critical thinking among primary school students. Asserts that readiness exercises can help students develop the mental reasoning skills necessary for critical thinking. Suggests (1) posing questions that elicit reflective responses; (2) encouraging students to ask questions to obtain information; and (3)…

Describes literature study groups where students select the novels they wish to read, engage in discussions of the novels in heterogeneous groups, and interact with the teacher through literature logs. (MG)

Describes a college literature course that focuses on Leslie Silko's "Storyteller" as its core, uses other authors' related readings as dialog to Silko's multilayered text, and requires weekly informal writing assignments as preparation for discussion. Discusses five assignments and resultant student insights into American Indian…

The effects of a task-based vocabulary learning technique that focuses learners' attention on the underlying meaning of a word were investigated. The words came from Xue and Nation's University Word List. The experimental exercises encouraged high quality discussion and increased utilization of context clues to determine word meaning. (26…

Investigated the use of the pronoun "it" by a nine-year-old girl as a concept variable conveying the message that she had something in mind that she believed the listener understood. (MDH)

Suggests that the essence of whole language is students developing literate voices. Discusses a seven-month partnership in which the authors participated in and reflected on literature discussions with small groups of fourth graders. Explores how literate voices are developed in real classrooms. (RS)