LISTENING TO EACH OTHERS VOICES - COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ABOUT OPEN MEETINGS IN CLASSROOMS

In this action research we report the results of a study focused on op en meetings in the classrooms of four elementary teachers, grades 2-5. Open meetings are regularly scheduled times when all class members an d the teacher discuss topics which are important and relevant to the g roup. All four teachers used open meetings because they believed such interaction created a positive sense of classroom community. Over the course of a two-year qualitative inquiry, our school/university collab orative team formulated numerous questions about open meetings in clas srooms. One of our questions involved students' beliefs about open mee tings as compared to teachers' beliefs. Results showed three core beli efs held by the teachers: Knowledge is socially constructed; the class room is a community of ideas; feelings are part of thinking. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.