Communication Disorders and Challenging Behaviors: Supporting Children’s Functional Communication Goals in the Classroom

Children with communication disorders may express frustrations through challenging behaviors such as aggressive behaviors and social withdrawal. Challenging behaviors may lead to difficulties with building social competencies including emotional regulation and peer engagement. Individualized planning of functional goals for children with communication disorders provides support for social communication to increase quality classroom interactions. Teachers, families and service providers can work together to assess the purpose of the child’s behaviors in order to create more functional ways for the child to communicate as the spoken language continues to improve. This article focuses on strategies including considerations for collaboration in initial planning, communication modifications, and peer supports.     

Urban Educators’ Voices: Understanding Culture in the Classroom

This article discusses urban educators’ views of their teaching experiences. The article is based upon survey research conducted with teachers in two poor, urban districts during the 2005–2006 academic year. The teachers reported a variety of positive and negative views regarding their classrooms, their students, and the students’ social worlds. The data illustrate the importance of classroom processes for the teachers, and how they believed that their students’ social locations, behaviors, and attitudes impede the delivery of educational content. We believe this research raises interesting challenges regarding the need for urban educators to incorporate students’ perspectives into both instructional processes and curriculum content. Furthermore, this research should contribute to the empirical foundation needed for the creation of better teacher preparation programs.     

“Bridging the Gap between Food Pantries and the Kitchen Table”: Teaching Embodied Literacy in the Technical Communication Classroom

Drawing from literature on communication as a physical, material experience, this article expands Cargile Cook’s “layered literacies” (2002) pedagogical framework to include a seventh literacy—embodied literacy. The article uses a classroom case study in which students coproduced a cookbook with low-income, elderly, disabled users, to demonstrate how students can become more responsible and effective technical communicators by recognizing users’ divergent embodied experiences. The article includes suggestions for concrete classroom practices that encourage such embodied literacy.     

Understanding and Improving Classroom Emotional Climate and Behavior Management in the “Real World”: The Role of Head Start Teachers' Psychosocial Stressors

Research Findings: This article reports on two studies. Study 1 considered ways in which Head Start teachers' (n = 90) psychosocial stressors are related to teachers' ability to maintain a positive classroom emotional climate and effective behavior management in preschool classrooms. Study 2 tested the hypothesis that among teachers randomly assigned to a treatment condition (n = 48), psychosocial stressors serve as important predictors of their use of an intervention designed to improve classroom emotional climate and behavior management. Practice or Policy: Findings from Study 1 were mixed; notably, teachers' personal stressors were moderately predictive of lower use of effective strategies of behavior management in the classroom. Findings from Study 2 suggest that psychosocial stressors are not a barrier to teachers' use of intervention services. Contrary to our expectations, teachers reporting more stressors attended more training sessions than did teachers reporting fewer stressors. Teachers reporting higher levels of stress availed themselves of less support from mental health consultants during classroom consultation visits offered to treatment group classrooms as part of the intervention.     

Facing the ”Literacy” Issue:

No abstract available for this article.     

Understanding Vygotsky for the Classroom: Is It Too Late?

Determining the capability of Vygotsky’s cultural–historical theory to fulfill key functions of educational theory (such as revealing the complexity of apparently simple events) has been hindered primarily by the following factors: (a) inaccurate information about a minor discussion, the zone of proximal development (ZPD), attracted attention early on and became identified as a major aspect of his theory; (b) the unavailability of accurate translations of his complete theory for several years; and (c) the lack of key information in popular discussions of Vygotsky’s work on scientific (subject matter) concepts, a major factor in cognitive development. This article first describes the original misconception of the ZPD, current extrapolations, and discrepancies between Vygotsky’s thinking and those views of the ZPD. Then the pivotal role of subject matter concepts in cognitive development, their relationship to logical thinking, and levels of thinking (pseudoconcepts, preconcepts, true conceptual thinking) are discussed. Implications for education include (a) rethinking classroom practices (accurately assessing the ZPD, collaborative learning in the classroom), (b) providing a sound rationale for reducing the proliferation of content requirements, and (c) refuting the practice of introducing abstract ideas and complex intellectual capabilities in the early grades. Issues in constructing curricula according to Vygotsky’s perspective are also discussed.     

“Just another emperor”: Understanding action in the past

This paper reports part of an investigation of children's ideas about explanation and enquiry in history carried out by project CHATA in 3 primary and 6 secondary schools in England. Three sets of tasks were administered on three separate occasions to children aged from 7 to 14 years of age (N=320). Responses to one task exploring children's ideas about the explanation of action in history are discussed. Almost all children (including the 7 year olds) could offer plausible reasons for individual action in history, and there was a progression from emphasis on personal desires to an awareness of the need to explain action by relating purposes to the agent's situation.     

“We don't want your opinion”: Knowledge Construction and the Discourse of Opinion in the Equity Classroom

As educators who teach courses that examine social power, we often struggle with a specific form of resistance in the equity-oriented classroom: “That's just [the author]'s opinion.” This “opinion discourse” emerges when students study scholarship that unsettles dominant knowledge claims and methods or when students are themselves asked to situate their knowledge. The opinion discourse could easily be read as simply an example of the lack of critical thinking skills among students. However, we believe that opinion discourse is more than a facile response to new ideas. We want to take opinion discourse seriously. We argue that opinion functions as a discursive project of resistance in the context of the equity-oriented classroom by solidifying inequitable power relations between the knower and that which is known. Our goals are twofold: to explicate how the opinion discourse functions as a specific legitimization of existing power relations and to unsettle the discursive authority that opinion offers.     

Oral Interpretation:Skills Training in the Classroom

<正>There is an increasing demand for interpreters in China as itsmodernization programmoves on.The oral interpretation class offered in English department just comes to meet thisvery demand.The purpose of the class,I believe,is to make the students familiarize with the-main techniques in paragraph interpretation and the related skills,speed,sense group,andnote-taking,for example.The following are the specific points to be emphasized and the re-lated methods undertaking in interpretation classroom. 1.Auditory Comprehension Before coming to interprete,students should be given,first of all,a sufficient amount ofpractice in listening comprehension,with a special view to developing their ability to attainthe meaning through guessing or context analysis.Listening comprehenssion,as we know,is the fundemental for quick and fluent interpretation.So before interpretation starts,stu-dents should have much guided listening practice in the classroom with the focus on compre-hension.Some students blieve that they have     

Aspects of the“Face”

This thesis focuses on different Chinese and western attitudes towards"Face"in communication.Based on Brown-Levinson’s Face Theory and the study on each definition of"Face"and its causes,it is concluded that Chinese people place emphasis on"collective face",whereas Westerners pay attention to"individual face".There is a mixture of factors that result in these salient differences,which should trace back to their long-existing historical,cultural and linguistic diversity.With the discussion on various aspects of the"face",there will be a better understanding of between Chinese and western intercultural communication.     

Deliberative Communication in Elementary Classroom Meetings: Ground Rules,Pupils’ Concerns,and Democratic Participation

Previous research has identified numerous obstacles that counteract attempts to involve pupils in democratic processes in schools. Drawing from deliberative democratic theory and sociolinguistic research on dialogic teaching we discuss an intervention grounded on the ideas of deliberative communication and decision-making in an elementary classroom in Finland. We show that deliberative communication can provide pupils with opportunities for democratic participation. This process involves altering conventional classroom interactional patterns and the power processes they uphold. The possibilities of expanding deliberative communication from isolated democratic meetings to everyday schooling are considered.     

Thai Image in “Lost in Thailand”and“Lost in Intercultural Communication”

<正>In the Chinese Spring Festival of 2012,the comedy movie of Lost in Thailand with the small investment of 30 million yuan was released in Chinese mainland and obtained the box office of 1.264billion yuan,becoming the Chinese movie with the highest box office income in Chinese movie history.In a cross-cultural perspective,the"Thai Image"shaped     

Authentic Research Experience and “Big Data” Analysis in the Classroom: Maize Response to Abiotic Stress

Integration of inquiry-based approaches into curriculum is transforming the way science is taught and studied in undergraduate classrooms. Incorporating quantitative reasoning and mathematical skills into authentic biology undergraduate research projects has been shown to benefit students in developing various skills necessary for future scientists and to attract students to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. While large-scale data analysis became an essential part of modern biological research, students have few opportunities to engage in analysis of large biological data sets. RNA-seq analysis, a tool that allows precise measurement of the level of gene expression for all genes in a genome, revolutionized molecular biology and provides ample opportunities for engaging students in authentic research. We developed, implemented, and assessed a series of authentic research laboratory exercises incorporating a large data RNA-seq analysis into an introductory undergraduate classroom. Our laboratory series is focused on analyzing gene expression changes in response to abiotic stress in maize seedlings; however, it could be easily adapted to the analysis of any other biological system with available RNA-seq data. Objective and subjective assessment of student learning demonstrated gains in understanding important biological concepts and in skills related to the process of science.     

Motherhood and the Construction of “Mommy Identity”: Messages about Motherhood and Face Negotiation

Sports media depictions of the Yankees and Red Sox have produced ironic team personae that can best be understood through the lens of Fisher's (1973 Fisher , W. R. ( 1973 ). Reaffirmation and subversion of the American Dream . Quarterly Journal of Speech , 59 , 160 – 167 . doi: 10.1080/00335637309383164 [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) materialistic and moralistic American dreams. In this article, the author traces the interaction of Burke's first three tropes—metaphor, metonymy, and synecdoche—in sports news coverage of the Yankees and Red Sox from 2000–2010 to explain the discursive construction of the teams' ironic personae. Collectively, media emphasis on money metaphors, the Yankees' lucrative 21st century stadium, and a militaristic owner align the team persona with a materialistic, aggressive economic competition model, whereas the Red Sox are represented by metaphors of frugality, a classic stadium, and familial “Idiots” to create a moralistic, cooperative image of the organization. The teams' personae are ultimately created and sustained through the tropological cycle and the dialectical interaction of the rivals.     

The Flipped Classroom in Training and Development: Fad or the Future?

This article provides an overview of the characteristics of the flipped classroom, discusses the foundations of this innovative instructional model, and analyzes the possibility of adoption and application to corporate learning platforms. The article assesses whether the flipped classroom is simply a temporary trend in education and learning or has the potential to truly revolutionize instructional design and delivery in the realm of training and development.     

Understanding Relationships Among the Dark Triad Personality Profile and Romantic Partners’ Conflict Communication

This study examined the relationship of employee sex and information source with perceived job autonomy, satisfaction with immediate supervisor and perceived opportunities for career advancement. In addition to the main analysis, exploratory communication profiles were constructed for female and male respondents. Multiple regression revealed no pragmatically significant differences in the prediction models for men and women; however, elementary linkage analysis indicates that discrepancies may exist between female and male perceptions of career advancement opportunities in relation to other variables.     

Prospective Elementary Teachers’ Understanding of the Nature of Science and Perceptions of the Classroom Learning Environment

This study investigated prospective elementary teachers’ understandings of the nature of science and explored associations with their guided-inquiry science learning environment. Over 500 female students completed the Nature of Scientific Knowledge Survey (NSKS), although only four scales were analyzed–Creative, Testable, Amoral, and Unified. The learning environment was assessed using previously-validated and reliable scales from What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) and the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI). Analyses indicated moderate multiple correlations that were statistically significant (p?<?0.01) between Creative (R?=?0.22), Testable (R?=?0.29), and Unified (R?=?0.27), and a positive learning environment. Regression coefficients revealed that Open-Endedness was a significant independent predictor of students’ understanding of the role of creativity in science (β?=?0.16), while Cooperation, Open-Endedness, and Material Environment were linked with understanding the testable nature of science (β?=?0.10–0.12). Interview questions probed possible relationships between an improved understanding of the nature of science and elements of a positive classroom environment. Responses suggested that an appropriate level of open-endedness during investigations was very important as this helped students grapple with abstract nature of science concepts and shift their conceptions closer to a more realistic view of scientific practice.     

“Rights are the Words for Being Fair”: Multicultural Practice in the Early Childhood Classroom

This article addresses the practices of multiculturalism and social justice as they are explored by an early childhood classroom. In response to the school requirement of participation in the Martin Luther King assembly, the children and their teachers seek to create a meaningful contribution reflective of the children’s voices and conceptions of justice and equality. The article examines classroom practices as children and teachers co-construct meaning around multiculturalism in early childhood. Through classroom research and discussion, the children develop their own concepts around these issues, finding meaningful ways to share their knowledge with the larger school community.