Summarizes teacher effectiveness literature and explores teaching-as-science and teaching-as-art, attempting to choose the best metaphor to describe the profession. The science-process metaphor has a better chance for improving teaching, though becoming a classroom scientist or researcher may be a difficult and lengthy process. Includes 24…

Effective teaching is a multifaceted endeavor comprised of process, product, artistic, and scientific aspects. The scientific dimension pertains to that multidisciplinary accumulation of systematic knowledge which makes possible the prediction and control of human behavior as it relates to the events comprising instruction and learning. This paper…

This paper argues that research findings from the study of teaching could be very useful in enhancing knowledge and tools for the design of both conventional and intelligent instructional software. It also suggests that if the ways in which teachers effectively conduct instruction are different and in certain ways better than other media, and if…

As a result of the pressures of educational reform and high-stakes assessment, some schools run the risk of foregoing active, student-centered learning activities for building test-taking skills and the memorization of discrete facts (Gredler, 1999; Jackson & Davis, 2000). Coupled with the additional pressure to fulfill the expectations of…

Investigates teachers' perceptions in two studies regarding extent to which various teaching methods are differentially appropriate for various types of students. Results of both studies indicate teachers do differentiate among appropriateness of various methods for different students, and their decisions tend to agree with existing research on…

This paper proposed to apply the perspective of constructivism to the classroom setting. Secondary science teachers and university personnel jointly developed and experimented with a variety of constructivist teaching strategies. Data were collected in the form of teacher anecdotes, audio and videotapes of lessons and student interviews, teacher…

A regional workshop was held in which educational researchers and practitioners shared their innovations, successes, concerns, and progress in using research and development to promote excellence in their state and local education agencies. This document reports its proceedings. "School Improvement: What the Research Says," by David P.…

Although the research base on teaching, learning, and effective schools has expanded, the results of that research have been implemented only to a limited degree, either in the classroom or in the training of teachers. One of the accusations that have frequently been made against teacher education is that it does not use a theoretical,…

There is general agreement that the current teaching of secondary science is not as good as it should be. Different critics identify different weaknesses, but there is agreement that students are not learning how scientists make knowledge claims and use this knowledge. This paper assumes that one powerful influence on the development of teachers…