Classroom management practices are critical to the success of teachers and students, and a growing number of programs have been developed to improve these practices. However, there has been less investigation into observational tools to assess classroom management and exploration of whether it can be measured consistently by observers across…

Classroom management practices are critical to the success of teachers and students, and a growing number of programs have been developed to improve these practices. However, there has been less investigation into observational tools to assess classroom management and explore whether it can be measured consistently by observers across elementary,…

When student end-of-course ratings are not commensurate with instructor skill and effort, one possible reason may be that students question the instructor's authority. It is proposed here that such doubts about authority are reinforced by specific instructor behaviors. This pilot study attempts to identify these behaviors in the interest of…

The objective of this study was to show how classroom observation systems measuring different dimensions of student behavior might be used simultaneously to record and analyze classroom process variables used by teachers. The subjects of the study were 71 student teachers, and the four observational systems were the Reciprocal Category System, the…

More information is necessary about constraints placed on teachers before sound classroom performance evaluations can be conducted. Results of an observational instrument utilized in South Carolina, "Describing Practices and Intentions of Classroom Teachers," isolates classroom factors associated with appropriateness of teachers'…

A framework for thinking about teacher assessment is provided. Good teaching is characterized and target domains for teacher assessment are identified. A number of challenges to existing assessment practices and plans for future assessment practices are identified. New systems of teacher assessment should be designed to triangulate across domains…

From "Educational Leadership/Research Supplement, v2 n5 May 1969, edited by the Research Council of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (James Raths, Chairman).

This paper discusses evaluating and observing teacher performance. It consists of three sections. The first section is an introduction, in which it is stated that most observations are used for the following two purposes: (1) the improvement of instruction, and (2) the provision of information to those who make personnel decisions in a school…

Describes a simple observational method for recording and evaluating the caregiving behavior of teachers of younger and older infants that may be used to foster program improvement. (ED)

Systematic observations of classroom behavior of both teachers and pupils are effective measures of process in education. Until a few years ago, the classroom process--what actually does and does not happen as a result of instituting a new program--went unmeasured for want of tools and techniques to do that job. In this article, examples of…

Describes the ACI (Activities Categories), a system based on Flander's interaction analysis. Each of eleven activity categories is explained and classified as being either student centered or teacher centered. Reviews the use of ACI and how the data are analyzed. (PR)

Research on linkages between teacher behavior and student learning is examined. Present and possible future process-outcome research is assessed with an emphasis on methodological considerations. Compilation of detailed normative data about classrooms, including explication and integration of process-process as well as process-outcome…

Examines observation as a process of systematic, intentional action, exploring strategies for observing within the classroom. Implications for the practice of educational evaluation, particularly teacher performance evaluation, are noted. Observation as a process of systematic, intentional action becomes embedded within a larger agenda aimed at…