Working for Equity in Heterogeneous Classrooms: Sociological Theory in Practice. Sociology of Education Series.

Sociological theory and method have been used to develop a theory of complex instruction (CI). CI enables teachers to teach at a high intellectual level while reaching a wide range of students. Teachers work to create equal-status interaction within small groups as students use each other as resources to complete challenging group tasks. The following selections in this collection explore the use of CI in classes with diverse students: (1) "Equity in Heterogeneous Classrooms: A Challenge for Teachers and Sociologists" (Elizabeth G. Cohen); (2) "Complex Instruction: An Overview" (Rachel A. Lotan); (3) "Organizing the Classroom for Learning" (Elizabeth G. Cohen, Rachel A. Lotan, and Nicole C. Holthuis); (4) "The Power in Playing the Part" (Dey E. Ehrlich and Marcia B. Zack); (5)"Understanding Status Problems: Sources and Consequences" (Elizabeth G. Cohen); (6) "Raising Expectations for Competence: The Effectiveness of Status Interventions" (Elizabeth G. Cohen and Rachel A. Lotan); (7) "The Effect of Gender on Interaction, Friendship, and Leadership in Elementary School Classrooms" (Anita Leal-Idrogo); (8) "Principles of a Principled Curriculum" (Rachel A. Lotan); (9) "Effects of the Multiple-Ability Curriculum in Secondary Social Studies Classrooms" (Bert Bower); (10) "What Did Students Learn?: 1982-1994" (Elizabeth G. Cohen and others); (11) "Sociologists in the Land of Testing" (Elizabeth G. Cohen); (12) "The Relationship of Talk and Status to Second Language Acquisition of Young Children" (H. Andrea Neves); (13) "Complex Instruction and Cognitive Development" (Rachel Ben-Ari); (14) "Teachers as Learners: Feedback, Conceptual Understanding, and Implementation" (Nancy E. Ellis and Rachel A. Lotan); (15) "Principals, Colleagues, and Staff Developers: The Case for Organizational Support" (Rachel A. Lotan, Elizabeth G. Cohen, and Christopher C. Morphew); (16) "Linking Sociological Theory to Practice: An Intervention in Preservice Teaching" (Patricia E. Swanson); (17) "Organizational Factors and the Continuation of a Complex Instructional Technology" (Rene F. Dahl); and (18) "A Viewpoint on Dissemination: (Nikola N. Filby). Three appendixes contain class, student, and teacher evaluation instruments. (Contains 43 tables, 14 figures, and 198 references.) (SLD)