This paper reports on the first stage of a project to develop and test the use of massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) for promoting computer supported collaborative learning through instructional gaming in the high school classroom. Teachers and students of English and Science at Swan View Senior High School, Western…

Through a detailed case study of one preservice teacher's development, the author examines the tension between basic skills and whole language discourses in literacy education. The author frames "the basic skills/whole language binary" as a "social imaginary,"--"an image that exists within the popular imagination or unconscious" and a force that…

This article presents findings from research in a school district using handhelds to support writing across the curriculum. The authors report that handheld devices can be useful to foster classroom note-taking activities, assist students who have handwriting difficulties, and provide inspiration to teachers who want to create collaborative and…

During the 1992-93 school year, the leadership of Benjamin Russell High School, located in Alexander City, Alabama, decided to experiment with blocked class periods. Under this option, sometimes referred to as the Copernican System, subjects are taught in double periods rather than in the conventional 50-minute periods normally used in most…

This paper addresses the problems encountered in implementing methodology that face vocational English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language (EFL/ESL), native language teachers in Japan. Teachers in "senmon gakko," two or three year vocational schools for high schools or high school graduates, are unable to take advantage of…

This report is one of a series from a project entitled "Case Studies in Evaluating the Benefits and Costs of Mediated Instruction and Distributed Learning," funded through a Field-Initiated Studies Educational Research Grant. The case study subject is the use of Daedalus courseware, an interactive program that allows all participants to…

The purpose of the project described in this thesis was to provide high school students suffering from severe dialect interference problems with the skills to proofread their writing for S inflection errors, and to improve their grasp of the spoken idiom so that they could develop an ear for correct form. Subjects were two ninth-grade sections of…

The close scrutiny of literature study and how literature is currently taught and learned reveals major findings in four crucial areas of educational concern: critical thinking, cultural diversity, assessment of achievement, and at-risk students. Currently, literature instruction is focused on information retrieval, and remains unconcerned with…

Findings of a study that investigated whether or not ability grouping can be implemented more effectively are presented in this paper, with a focus on exploring possible instances of high quality instruction in low ability classes. Methodology involved observation, teacher questionnaires and interviews, student tests and questionnaires, and…

A case study examined two preservice teachers' attitudes about literature and the teaching of literature, and examined whether a "Teaching of Literature" course for secondary English education majors influenced their attitudes. Data included in-depth, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, written artifacts (learning logs,…

A study of two teachers and four secondary level English classes examined how traditional methods of teaching literature were replaced by more interactive and integrated approaches to text, based primarily upon a whole language philosophy. Intervention aspects purposely remained open-ended to accommodate each teacher's understandings and…

A case study examined the brief conversations about writing that took place between a high school English teacher and two of his students. One illustrative writing conference conversation lasting 1 minute and 19 seconds shows how, through the push and pull of their short exchange, student and teacher simultaneously read the book, read the writing…

A study examined the basic patterns of oral discourse in five lower-track, high school English classrooms, and the purposes driving the activity from teachers' and students' perspectives. Five experienced literature teacher-researchers each studied one teacher as that teacher taught an instructional unit on literary text. Results showed that: (1)…

Observations of 90 lessons reveal the limitations of the whole-class discussion, the dominant teaching method in elementary and secondary schools. In addition to producing a low percentage of student involvement, rarely more than 50%, teachers' questions and answer techniques do not usually stimulate critical thinking. Besides most often asking…

In January 1982, Wytheville Community College (WCC) adopted the English Qualifying Exam (EQE) as its English placement instrument and made the exam mandatory for all students wishing to enter English 101 or 111 after the spring 1982 quarter. A study was conducted to determine the correlation between students' EQE scores and their English 101/111…