With the recent emphasis on evaluating teachers' effectiveness by the performance of their students, it should be no surprise that this subject has reached the physical education (PE) sector. This commentary examines 3 articles by Rink (2013), McKenzie and Lounsbery (2013), and Ward (2013), who each take a different perspective on measuring…

The author always turns to children to be her teachers when she comes up against new ideas and challenges. She believes that observing closely and reflecting on how children engage in exploration and discovery reinforced the notion that children, in fact, do more with less! Supporting children in developing self-regulation is not an easy task in…

This article focuses on early childhood classrooms in which young children with disabilities are enrolled, ideally inclusive classrooms. A foundational assumption about which most early intervention professionals would agree is that young children with disabilities learn from: (1) their experiences (interactions) with their physical environments…

This article presents the authors' reply to Rod Ellis's comments on their study on motivated classroom behavior. As Ellis correctly summarizes, the three student variables selected for investigation in the authors' study were attention, participation, and volunteering for teacher-fronted activity. These three components were then summed up in a…

In this article, the author opines on teaching students in an easy, peaceful and happy manner. Realistically, however, this is not always possible. Oftentimes teachers labor over figuring out the reasons for children's strengths and attending to their needs. Here, she discusses the types of behaviors that may be exhibited by students during…

To maintain a stimulating learning environment, a variety of teaching strategies must be used, and teachers must be constantly aware of what is going on in the classroom. Ways to become a skilled observer include using a skill goal improvement schedule, monitoring the physical environment, and learning to read nonverbal signs. (JOW)

Describes instances in which conversation topics are audibly formulated in a classroom during a one-hour science lesson and how this task may be problematic for both participants and analysts of classroom talk. (HTH)

Presents teachers' and students' criticisms of teacher preparation programs at the University of Illinois, Northern Illinois University, and New Mexico State University and of student teaching in particular. (SRT)

Defining environment as both the physical space and the people who are in it, this paper explored the effects of environment on a first-grade child. Urie Bronfenbrenner's theories on the effects of physical environment on children provided a conceptual foundation during the observation of Christy, a student at Lawrence School in Brookline,…

Suggests that when teachers study their children in systematic ways to enhance classroom management, they are participating in action research. Discusses how data for action research are collected, for example teacher diaries and student portfolios. Presents two examples of action research: one on block play and the other on curriculum…

Classroom Research is a model which involves college teachers of all disciplines in systematic observation and collection of data about their teaching impact. This model, integrating research into everyday teaching and focusing on what works in the immediate classroom, suggests practical ways for instructors to obtain timely and regular feedback…

The paper is a description of how one teacher structured a classroom for five seriously disturbed violent boys (ages 5.5 to 8 years) at a private residential and day school for emotionally disturbed students. Anecdotes are reported as well as the teacher's reflections. Changes in the teacher's original planned class structure while maintaining the…

The work of experienced and student lower primary teachers in three schools in Southern Malawi was studied, using lesson observations, interviews and pupil tests. The use teachers make of songs is given as an example of how they use oral culture. The function of songs in lessons is mainly to manage the class rather than to teach content, in…

This book offers a generalized way of examining the moral significance of what occurs in classrooms, with a focus on analyzing classroom interactions from a symbolic/expressive point of view. The book's ideas were derived from the Moral Life of Schools Project, a 2-year study that investigated the ways in which moral considerations permeate the…

Presents journal entries concerning the methods, classroom illustrations, conversations, and results of teaching fiction writing to sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students at a New York City junior high school. (RL)