This study evaluated differences in teacher and student perceptions about communication patterns within classrooms and the effect of a teacher-student communication system, the Learning Expressways System, on teacher-student communication. High school teachers who had or have had students with disabilities in their classes participated. In the first study, 17 teachers and students in 1 or 2 of the teachers' classes were surveyed using the Being Known Survey. This instrument required students to rate the teacher's behavior, and the teacher's version required teachers to rate their own behavior. In the second study, 6 teachers used the Learning Expressways System for 6 weeks in 1 of 2 randomly assigned classes. Results showed that teachers overestimated the connections they had made with their students, especially about problems. In the Learning Expressways style, students and teachers described some improvement in making connections after the system was implemented. Feedback from students and teachers suggested that the time interval for which the intervention was in use should have been longer than 6 weeks, and they recommended changes in the communication system. For example, they suggested that a number of conversation starters be designed that teachers could use to stimulate dialogues with students. Appended are: Student Being Known Questionnaire; Teacher Being Known Questionnaire; Being Known Questionnaire: Student versus Teacher Comparison; and Learning Expressways Feedback Survey. (Contains 17 references and 3 tables.) (Author/CR)