This article discusses research in classroom time usage and the benefits and weaknesses of prior research in this area. The article addresses in particular how to precisely measure the use of time in classrooms and how to address the issue of partial engagement, in which only a portion of the class is academically engaged. The article defines…

This article presents a mathematical algorithm that relates student achievement with directly observable, quantifiable teacher and student behaviors, producing a modified form of the Walberg model. The algorithm (1) expands the measurable factors that comprise the quality of instruction in a linear basis of research-based teaching components and…

Concurrent use of two direct observation instruments (momentary time sample of task engagement and event recording of discrete student responses) were evaluated in six middle school resource rooms using either of two reading programs. Findings tended to be program specific with differences lost or diluted when data were combined across programs.…

Momentary time samples (MTS) of 2, 4, and 6 minutes were compared to continuous recording samples of on-task behavior for three elementary-aged students with emotional/behavioral orders (EBD). Results indicated that the 2-minute, but not the 4- or 6-minute, interval MTS were consistent with the continuous measure. Implications for research and…

The validity of interval and time sampling methods of measuring student engaged time was investigated in a study estimating the actual time students spent engaged in relevant motor performance in physical education classes. Two versions of the interval Academic Learning Time in Physical Education (ALT-PE) instrument and an equivalent time sampling…

Forty-seven young children, 15 with disabilities, were observed 4 times for types and levels of engagement. Results indicated that engagement is difficult to measure through molecular data collection techniques because of error in dependability measures. The number of observed sessions could be increased to achieve generalizability, but increases…

Designed to study individual use of time spent in reading during regularly scheduled language arts instruction in a natural classroom setting, this coding sheet consists of nine categories: (1) engagement, (2) area of language arts, (3) instructional setting, (4) partner (teacher or pupil(s)), (5) source of content, (6) type of unit, (7) assigned…

This paper discusses the creation of analytic categories that were applied to behavior in quite different, contrasting settings and that at the same time retained their ecological validity. In Project Follow Through, behavior stream observations were conducted on 20 second-grade children for an entire school day. To study the structure of behavior…

Collecting time-on-task data is necessary in order to research methods for increasing student time-on-task and to provide feedback to teachers on what teaching behaviors produce high levels of on-task behaviors in students. A student and a teacher behavior data collection instrument developed for research in the area of academic learning time is…

Detroit's Peer Teachers as Mirrors and Monitors Project is intended to validate cost effective methods for increasing Academic Learning Time (ALT) for students in grades one through four. A major problem in this research effort has been the design of valid and reliable measures of the components of ALT. One very important component of ALT is…

This observer training manual was developed as a central component of a research effort, Changing Teacher Practice (CTP), which was designed to increase the frequency of effective teaching behaviors and staff development strategies in an ongoing school system. The observations focused on two major aspects of classroom teaching--instruction and…

In 1981, when Chapter 1 replaced Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I and with the advent of the effective schools movement, the Hawaii state administrators of Chapter 1 made a long term commitment to program improvement, especially in the area of instruction and quality delivery of services to the target students. In this program…

Data are reported for the classroom observational portion of a cross-sectional study conducted in Tasmania, Australia to examine the acquisition and development of addition and subtraction skills in young children. During the study, a group of students in grades l, 2, and 3 who differed in cognitive processing skills were observed during…

This paper describes Detroit's "Peer Teachers as Mirrors and Monitors" project, a cost effective approach to increasing student achievement in mathematics and reading in grades one through four in Title I schools. The program consists of: (1) an observation/feedback system giving teachers data from their students' engaged-in-learning…

Reports on a study to extend the concurrent and predictive validity of the Teacher Performance Assessment Instrument by including a sample of middle school science teachers. The validity criteria for the study involved observing student engagement and integrated process skill achievement. (TW)