The study was conducted to ascertain the extent and nature of differences of perceptions which exist between the elementary regular classroom teacher, elementary resource room teacher and building principal relating to the duties and responsibilities of the elementary resource room teacher.A questionnaire containing nineteen statements regarding the duties and responsibilities of the elementary resource room teacher was distributed to 40 building principals, 572 elementary regular classroom teachers and 21 elementary resource room teachers. hirty-four building principals, or 85 percent, completed the questionnaire and 370, or 64 percent of the elementary regular classroom teachers completed and returned the questionnaire. A total of twenty, or 95 percent, of the elementary resource room teachers also completed and returned the questionnaire.The results were analyzed by the chi-square test of independence at the .05 level of significance to test three null hypotheses in order to determine if perceptions of building principals, elementary regular classroom teachers and elementary resource room teachers were identical or different.A statistical difference in perceptions of the three groups was indicated with regard to elementary resource room teachers keeping the building principal informed of all aspects of the resource room program, including the referral process. The data also indicated a difference in perceptions among the three groups pertaining to the resource room teacher cooperatively implementing and coordinating with the elementary regular classroom teacher skill development tasks of the student which have been included in the individualized educational plan. A difference in perceptions between the three groups was also indicated with respect to the resource room teacher participating in case conferences and assisting in determination of criteria for placement of a child in special programs. Implementation of long term and short term goals for the mildly handicapped child cooperatively by the elementary regular class teacher and elementary resource room teacher was also perceived differently by the three groups as a duty of the elementary resource room teacher.Recommendations for Further Research1. A study should be conducted to determine whether the identified duties and responsibilities of the elementary resource room teacher are actually being performed.2. A study should be conducted to determine if the perceived duties and responsibilities of the elementary resource room teacherr have changed as the resource room concept has been utilized over a longer period of time.3. As the utilization of resource rooms increases in Indiana Public School Corporations, the study should be replicated, as a larger sample may add verification to the results.4. A study to determine whether years of professional experience of building principals, elementary regular classroom teachers and elementary resource room teachers can be identified as a factor regarding the perceptions of the duties and responsibilities of the elementary resource room teacher should be conducted.

The purpose of this study was to describe and explore the nature and frequency of the interaction and the factors affecting interaction in language classrooms. This qualitative study was conducted in a private language course in Ankara, Turkey. The sample consisted of 6 teachers. The data were collected through video-camera, semi-structred interview and demographic information log. To tackle the complexity of the raw data, data were first subjected to constant comparison analysis. Second, all results were tabulated and interpreted. The results indicated the amount of teacher talk outweighed student talk and teachers spent on average one third of the lesson on lecturing. Besides, it was observed teachers spent approximately 3 % of the lesson on questioning and teachers ask more low-level questions than high-level questions. In addition, the results revealed teacher-initiated interaction outweighed student-initiated interaction and both teacher-initiated and student-initiated interactions outweighed student-student interaction. It was also observed male students interact with teacher more than females. Lastly, the results indicated teachers criticized males more than females. In addition, the results about the nature of interaction indicated students used the method of shouting the answer or idea directly most as the way of initiating interaction with teacher. Furthermore, they had most interaction with teachers so as to ask questions related to the lesson. Also, the results showed the teachers used the method of addressing the whole class as the way of initiating interaction with students. Finally, the teachers used the questioning strategy most as a means of initiating interaction with students.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 306-314).

The writing center provides individualized instructions for students to improve their writing. Though a lot of writing center research focuses on English as a Second Language (ESL) students, there is no study on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in mainland China context. This study attempts to bridge that research gap by examining writing center interaction and its succeeding influence on students’ revision. The study examines six writing center interactions by using conversation analysis to reveal interactional patterns. Students’ pre-session text and revised text are analyzed linguistically by adopting discourse analysis. Participants’ interpretations are compiled from interview data to provide their perceptions of the writing center. The findings that emerged from conversation analysis of tutorial transcriptions, discourse analysis of students’ writing, and the interview data for this study include: (1) In writing center interaction, the tutor is the dominant speaker while the student is the subordinate participant. (2) Institutional context, limited knowledge about students, and Chinese culture of learning affect the tutor-tutee interaction. (3) Issues covered in the interaction become the focus of students’ revision. (4) Lexicogrammatical issues are the focus of writing center interaction and students’ revision. (5) Students speak highly of the interaction and tutors’ help. This research provides a thorough description of the writing center interaction, its subsequent effects on students’ revision, and students’ perceptions on the interaction. The implications of this study include: (a) eliciting more information at the beginning of the interaction; (b) adopting flexible tutoring approach; (c) encouraging students to take active participation; and (d) providing training for tutors. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study focused on the relationship between classroom interaction and small class teaching in a Hong Kong secondary school, an issue which has long been recognized in a range of international and local studies. The observation of one teacher teaching two S.1 classes of different class size (n=34 and n=23) and another teacher teaching two S.7 classes of different class size (n=23 and n=12) over a period of time has revealed key differences between teaching and learning in large and small classes. This study draws on both quantitative and qualitative data. The study includes a pilot case study which comprised of three-hour lesson observations in each of the two S.1 (grade 7) classrooms, an action research study which consisted of 20-hour lesson observations in each of my two S.7 classes (grade 13), interview with the S.1 (grade 7) teacher participant and a total of 15 students, writing from my S.7 students, and my own teacher journal reflections from my S.7 classes. Findings from both the case study and the action research reveal that students in the small classes have more opportunities for participation and classroom interaction after they were offered more group work, discussion, scaffolding and open-ended questions. It was found that small classes were more conducive to the fostering of dialogic teaching as well as the formation of communities of practice. Implications for pedagogy and further research are included. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

No description available.

No description available.

This study, undertaken in the classrooms of minority-language students in French-language schools in Montreal, aims to test Stern's (1990, 1992) proposal for integrating analytic and experiential teaching strategies in second language pedagogy. A related objective seeks to establish the pedagogical orientation of instructional practices during French language arts as being more analytically---or more experientially---focused and to describe the setting from the perspective of these culturally and linguistically diverse students for whom French is a second language. Research procedures entailed the implementation of an integrated activity---journal writing with differential feedback (form-focused, content-based, and a combination of form-focused and content-based)---in four Grade 5 classrooms (N = 112 in total) for approximately four months of one academic year. Twenty-four classroom observations that included coding with the COLT observation scheme and taking fieldnotes were also carried out, and individual interviews were conducted with students, teachers, and administrators. Throughout the study, the francophone students in the participating classrooms acted as a comparison group. The study demonstrated that minority-language students' home cultures and the potentially positive role of the mother tongue in second language learning were not well understood in this context of submersion. COLT findings and qualitative outcomes triangulated to reveal instructional practices that were more inclined towards an analytic than towards an experiential approach to teaching. For both groups of students, MANOVA results indicated no significant effects for quantity of production, accuracy, and overall effectiveness in the journal writing as a function of differential feedback; behavioural and attitudinal data proved helpful in the interpretation of these statistical outcomes. A qualitative analysis of various aspects of the journals' contents revealed that the activity had b

No description available.

This study examined the effects of cooperative learning combined with the philosophy of Challenged education on social skill and self concept development. The participants were sixth grade students from two different classrooms in a rural midwestern school district. One class was the control and the other the experimental group.During a nine week intervention the experimental group was involved with cooperative learning/Challenge Education while the control group maintained their usual schedule that did not include cooperative learning/Challenge Education. Previous to and following the intervention, the students' social skills were rated by themselves, their teachers, and their parents. In addition, the students rated their own academic and nonacademic self concepts. Measurement tools used were standardized assessment instruments.Two separate multivariate analysis of variance were computed: one for social skills and one for self concept. Following the social skills MANOVA simple interaction effects analyses were calculated followed by simple effects analysis. The results of the MANOVA revealed a significant interaction between time of testing and treatment when examining social skills. Significant interactions were found for parent ratings and teacher ratings. The students' ratings did not reveal a significant interaction. The simple effects analyses for teacher reports revealed the teachers' ratings of students' social skills differed on the pretest; however, the posttest did not reveal a significant difference between group's social skills. No effect were found on the self-concept scale. It was concluded that the intervention may not have produced the desired effects because students had attained only the awareness level of development according to the challenge education model. Therefore, further research using awareness as the outcome seems warranted. / Department of Educational Psychology