A Seven‐category Interaction Analysis for Infant Teachers to Use Themselves 1

A procedure has been developed in which (a) a teacher records her classroom speech on a carried cassette recorder, (b) subsequently replays the recording and codes each utterance in terms of seven categories and the name of the child or children spoken to, and (c) reflects on her classroom practice as revealed by the coding analysis, using evaluative guidelines.

This procedure has been tested successfully with 11 teachers of infant children, working in informal classrooms.

     

Analysis of Student–Instructor Interaction Patterns in Real-Time, Scientific Online Discourse

The characteristics of the online environment alter how students and instructors interact. Scientific discourse among students and instructors in an online text-only synchronous environment was analyzed. In converting dialogue to text, many of the nonverbal cues, such as facial expression and tone of voice, which instructors use to gauge student understanding are lost. The participants adapt their communication style to the medium, and we present a new interaction pattern for student–instructor communication found prevalent in the synchronous, text-only, online environment. This study has implications for instructors who use synchronous, text-based communication for their courses, namely the value of posing additional questions from the instructor to verify student understanding.     

Using Intensive Interaction to add to the palette of interactive possibilities in teacher–pupil communication

Intensive Interaction was introduced to a special developmental school in Melbourne, Australia. The school had previously used behavioural and skills‐based teaching approaches to underpin the teaching of students with severe/profound intellectual disabilities and autistic spectrum disorders. Video baselines of students involved in classroom interactions were taken before introducing the approach of Intensive Interaction to the school. Following a 30‐week period during which the approach was practised routinely in classrooms, further video records were made. These video records enabled comparison to be made against five indicators of student involvement. Professional development using video techniques and structured reflection was initiated with all involved staff. Increases in the student’s joint focus, positive affect and interactive involvement were noted. In addition to changes in the communicative involvement of the pupils, the practitioner’s communicative involvement was also noted to change.     

Interactive Contributions of Attribution Biases and Emotional Intensity to Child–Friend Interaction Quality During Preadolescence

Using data from a subsample of 913 study children and their friends who participated in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the interactive contributions of child-reported attribution biases and teacher-reported child emotional intensity (EI) at Grade 4 (M = 9.9 years) to observed child–friend interaction at Grade 6 (M = 11.9 years) were examined. Study children's hostile attribution bias, combined with high EI, predicted more negative child–friend interaction. In contrast, benign attribution bias, combined with high EI, predicted more positive child–friend interaction. The findings are discussed in light of the “fuel” interpretation of EI, in which high-intensity emotions may motivate children to act on their cognitive biases for better or for worse.     

REAL Camp: A School–University Collaboration to Promote Post-Secondary Educational Opportunities Among High School Students

The REAL Camp-NIU Experience established at Northern Illinois University serves as a model to afford high school students an experience in science- and mathematics-related careers. The participants’ perceptions of the college-based camp curriculum were very favorable, as were the perceptions from preservice teachers and practicing teachers concerning the overall effect of the camp on student participants. Data indicated that the camp has shown success over time, with 21 of the 26 participants enrolling in some form of post-secondary education.     

Coaching Teachers to Improve Students’ School Readiness Skills: Indirect Effects of Teacher–Student Interaction

This study examined indirect associations of MyTeachingPartner coaching with pre-K students’ (N = 1,570; 73% low income) school readiness, via improvements of teachers’ (N = 393; 47% Black; 41% Head Start) classroom interactions. Data were collected across 2008–2009 and 2009–2010 in 10 urban sites across the eastern United States. The number of completed coaching cycles was examined as a predictor of teacher–student interactions, as were direct or indirect associations with students’ literacy, receptive language, and working memory skills. Significant findings indicated that teachers engaged in more feedback cycles showed greater improvements in instructional interactions, in turn predicting greater increases in students’ early literacy and working memory. Results confirm the theory of change for coaching and an ecological-developmental conceptualization of school readiness.     

Contributions of Teacher–Child Interaction Quality to Chinese Children’s Development in the Early Childhood Years

Research Findings: Growing international evidence points to high-quality teacher–child interactions in early learning environments as key contributors to children’s learning and development. Little is known, however, about the longitudinal effects of these experiences, particularly in the Chinese context. In this study, we addressed the question of such longitudinal effects by examining the predictive effect of classroom teacher–child interaction quality on children’s subsequent academic development in a sample of 3-year-old children in Chinese kindergartens. Utilizing a hierarchical linear modeling approach, we found that teacher–child interaction quality, especially the classroom organization domain, consistently predicted the development of children’s early academic and cognitive skills. Practice or Policy: Findings contribute to the growing international literature on the critical role teacher–child interaction quality plays in children’s learning and development. Implications for policy and professional development are discussed.