Classroom Communication and Diversity

This textbook provides a useful framework for helping new and experienced teachers manage the communication challenges of today's classroom. The authors believe it is important to challenge teachers to reflect on the ways their personal cultures influence their expectations about appropriate classroom communication and ways to demonstrate learning

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Teachers face myriad communication challenges in today's classroom, reflecting the growing diversity of the student body; the ever-increasing number of students; gender issues; and students' learning disabilities. This volume provides a useful framework for helping new and experienced teachers manage the diverse communication challenges they encounter. It also encourages teachers to reflect on how their personal cultures influence their expectations about appropriate classroom communication and ways to demonstrate learning.


This textbook is distinctive in its integration of information from a variety of sources to establish a viewpoint that focuses on the needs of the individual learner. Drawing on the research in the communication and education disciplines, authors Robert G. Powell and Dana Caseau provide theoretical models and useful strategies for improving instructional practices. They address the ways in which culture influences communication in the classroom, and assist teachers in developing the skills necessary to meet the needs of the students in their classrooms.


Much of the information shared in this text derives from the authors' research and experience in schools and from the experiences of others, including teachers, parents, and children. Their experiences, combined with the cross-disciplinary approach, produce a volume of unique perspectives and considerable insight. Teachers and scholars in the communication and education disciplines will find this text to be a practical and valuable tool for classroom teaching, and it is appropriate for instructional communication courses in the areas of communication and education.