In order for teachers to implement inquiry-based teaching practices, they must have experienced inquiry-based learning especially during science content and methods courses. Although the impacts of inquiry-based instruction on various cognitive and affective domains have been studied and documented little attention has been paid to "how"…

Reported is an observational analysis process termed "macroanalysis" which involves the analysis of interactive dialogue in chains or sequences of coded behavior rather than in terms of conventional matrices and ratios. All existing 3-, 4-, and 5-tally chains are extracted directly from an observer's coded tallies. This paper includes a…

Students' evaluations of instructors are indicators of good or bad instruction, but often fail to accurately identify the characteristics of the instruction. An observational system is described which yields relevant information concerning the nature of the instruction. (JP)

An observational system for classroom interaction based on the nature of science is reported. Author reasons that structure of the discipline must be considered while evolving an interaction analysis system. (PS)

Describes a study using two types of macroanalytic analyses of observed teacher behaviors in the classroom. The findings of the study showed one of the macroanalytic techniques to be more effective as it identified broader behavior patterns occurring over longer periods of time. (MLH)

This article examines: (1) some difficulties associated with teacher interaction analyses, (2) well known teacher interaction scales, (3) current directions in research and practice in observation, and (4) special applications of teaching interaction analyses to the field of physics. (CP)

Research on the relationship between teaching strategies and student outcomes supports the use of inductive/indirect teaching strategies. Research shows that this can be achieved through the analysis of model lessons with a systematic observation instrument. (MLH)

This paper offers a concept for overcoming some problems in classroom observation research stated in the following three propositions: (1) there is a logical gap between available means for describing teacher behavior using observation schemes and the larger purposes of education; (2) classroom observation instruments have neglected descriptions…

Discusses the number of observations necessary to obtain a trustworthy sample of classroom transactions by reanalyzing existing data. Eleven to twenty observations appear necessary for teachers' questions which require students to hypothesize. The reliability of a single observation was zero for four other questioning types. (CC)

In this paper progress made in the systematic study of science classrooms is examined. Discussion centers on research studies related to three questions: (1) What is the nature of the environment in science classrooms? (2) What inputs to the classroom influence the environment? and (3) What environmental characteristics are related to student…

A pupil observational system for use in the secondary classroom is provided. Results of the instruments use with five classes are discussed. (CP)

Investigated were teacher-pupil and pupil-pupil relationships in the context of elementary science activities, of which the characteristic feature was the predominance of small group work by pupils without continuous teacher direction. Two pairs of pupils from each of ten classes were recorded for a single class session using two independently…

Reported is the development and field testing of the Science Classroom Observation Form (SCOF), an instrument focusing on the interactive characteristics among students, the environment, and teacher in elementary and junior high school science classrooms. This instrument was developed to be used in research investigations of openness and inquiry…

Use of the Teaching Strategies Observation Differential (TSOD), a 10-category system for observing and classifying teacher classroom behavior, is discussed as it relates to training preservice elementary school science teachers. Contends that skill in the use of TSOD helps preservice teachers become more effective in bringing about desired pupil…