Presents results of 2 studies on mentoring teacher educators in literacy education. Models alternative ways of representing and evaluating research data. Articulates how these alternative forms of representing data capture the aesthetics of mentoring graduate students in literacy teacher education. Describes the quantitative survey study,…

Extends a conversation begun in response to issues the authors identified in their own work as writers of qualitative research and in the works of others. Discusses theory, methodology, representation and legitimation, and writing and write-up of qualitative research. (RS)

Focuses on adolescent students' perceptions of their own actions, thoughts, and motives related to classroom talk about texts. Finds that students are aware of the conditions they believe to be conducive to good discussions, knowledgeable about the different tasks and topics that influence their participation in discussions, and cognizant of how…

Examines the effect of prior knowledge activation on sixth-grade readers' comprehension of compatible and incompatible text. Results support the notion that prior knowledge may intefer with, rather than facilitate, reading comprehension under certain conditions. (HOD)

Describes a study which examined classroom discussions of content area readings and attempted to modify the discussions to reflect more higher-order thinking and critical reading. Finds that teachers did elicit more inferential responses, even though they did not effect substantial and lasting changes in classroom interaction patterns. (RS)

Responds to an article in the same issue of this journal. Explains the apparent "conflicts" between findings of two research studies (with different purposes and methods) of the same classroom. Emphasizes the different natures of qualitative and quantitative research. (SR)

Characterizes middle school teachers' discussions of assigned readings from a variety of content area materials. Finds that the teachers' purpose appeared to influence the type of discussion they conducted and that their actual discussions seldom resembled their articulated abstract definitions of a good discussion. (KEH)