Reports the findings of a study exploring how teachers manage a pervasive and disruptive classroom behavior known as talking out of turn. Shows that teachers use two main strategies, conversation and classroom talk, to manage classroom talk and that these strategies correlate with the frequency of talking out of turn. (DSK)

Uses literature discussion as a vehicle for encouraging fourth-grade students to reflect critically on injustice in their own lives. Notes that reflection is a basic skill and an important reading strategy all too often ignored or unacknowledged. Suggests that reflection is the very core of learning rather than an extra or supplementary reading…

Analyzed 5-year-olds' retellings of movie segments following discussions with their mothers. Found that quality of stories was better for children whose mothers used scaffolding strategies (e.g., prompting children's memories, extended exchanges on critical topics used by their mothers) than for children whose mothers used no such strategies or…

Suggests that it is easier to invigorate class discussion and stimulate critical thinking if students discover the constructed nature of the canon by first seeing that their notions about a "typical" Poe story have been shaped by an often invisible process of selection and exclusion. (SG)

Describes a study of undergraduates that examined the effects of the levels of learner self-direction on the interaction and satisfaction in Web-based discussion groups. Results of statistical analyses indicated that learner self-direction does have an effect on activities in online discussion. (Author/LRW)

Outlines certain ways that educators might remap certain assumptions about and discussions of pedagogy, focusing on the paradoxes of authority and power. Three sections present moments of theory and practice, examining excessive pedagogy, excessive writing, and excessive research. (SM)

The Front Range Critical Studies Group, comprised of four California State University teacher educators, aims to provide a scholarly, informal forum for interdisciplinary discussion of theoretical, political, and cultural issues. The group facilitates collegial scholar/student relationships, promotes enlightened discussion through lecture series…

Draws comparisons between children's and pre- and inservice teachers' responses to "Sarah, Plain and Tall." Finds that discussion played a formative role in shaping adults' responses to the book, the nature and direction of those responses, and their understanding of children's responses. Discusses implications for teachers to better understand…

Discusses conversation as a medium for school change, a way to build community, and as a means for designing new systems of learning. Examines the value of conversation and dialog, and suggests strategies for conversations that differ from traditional argument and debate. Notes that in design conversation, the group shares the responsibility for…

Describes a 90-minute lesson on urban nature writing that was taught as part of a 12-week journal writing course for middle school students. Notes class discussions debating "what is natural" as an inspiration for "urban nature writing." Considers differences in discussion between the grade levels 6-8. Concludes that benefits…

Discusses whether students can learn science from carefully designed online peer discussions. Contrasts two formats of contributed comments--historical debate and narrative text--and assesses the impact of an asynchronous discussion on student understanding of the nature of light. Reports that students gain integrated understanding of the nature…

Summarizes research concerning the influence of different types of discussions about moral dilemmas between adolescents and either parents or peers on the adolescents' moral development. Discusses implications for camp staff, who may lead campers in discussions based on real-life moral dilemmas in their cabins. (SV)

Describes an activity in which the students examine gender differences in smiling, using individual yearbook photos as a data set. Explains that the activity provides a means for reviewing null and alternative testing, operational definitions, interpretation of results, and external validity. Addresses the activity evaluation. (CMK)

Describes how using prereading opinionnaires enhances students' understanding of literature while satisfying many of the demands of Standard #3 of the Standards for the English Language Arts. Offers examples of such opinionnaires, and shows how one was used in a 9th-grade English class to promote students' understanding of the novel "The Giver,"…

Argues against the notion that Chinese students do not volunteer to participate in tutorial discussion. Interview data obtained from a group of Chinese tertiary students in Hong Kong has shed some light on the subtle relationship between the traditional Chinese concepts of learning and students' behavior in tutorial discussion. (Author/VWL)