Classroom observations are frequently conducted with the purpose of comparing the behavior of a target student to that of other peers within the same classroom. A variety of procedures may be utilized by researchers and practitioners to collect such data; however, little is known of the accuracy of estimates of behavior produced by such procedures…

Recent systematic observations of UK classrooms are reviewed. Findings about how verbal teacher-feedback and students' on-task behaviour are associated are discussed. The method, utility and impact of this type of quantitative research are discussed using a large-scale (mass) secondary school study. Findings include: the use of positive feedback…

Few studies examine the classroom behavior of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in comparison with classroom peers and which teaching formats best support classroom engagement. Observations (N = 312) of second- and fourth-grade students with ADHD and their randomly selected classroom peers were conducted using a…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the variability of principals' classroom observations across schools and to relate classroom observations to the schools' instructional climate. This helps identify the conditions under which classroom observations effectively improve instruction in some schools and not in other schools.…

Using a low-inference observational instrument, the authors empirically described and compared pedagogical behaviors in bilingual and structured English-immersion programs serving Spanish-speaking English language learners in a large urban school district in Southeast Texas. The two programs included both intervention/control of each type during…

Findings from a study involving 8 physical education teachers and 48 secondary students indicate that the teachers allocated less than one half of the available lesson time for student participation with the learning tasks. In addition, the rate of successful performance experienced by high, average, and low achievers differed significantly. (IAH)

The current study examined the behaviors related to academic engagement exhibited by students with ADHD during instruction in math and reading. A total of 155 students (92 ADHD, 63 recruited controls) in grades 1 through 4 participated in the study. Results revealed that students with ADHD exhibited statistically significant lower rates of…

Part of an overall evaluation study of the WANDAH Project at Logan High School (Utah), this study compared the time on task of students in a computer-based English class in two conditions, the handwriting condition (any situation in which they were not involved with computers) and the computer condition. Observational techniques were used to code…

Describes a study which examined how elementary school students learning Logo through structured and unstructured teaching methods compared in time on task, discipline, and organization factors, and whether techniques other than mastery measures can be used to differentiate Logo classes taught by structured and unstructured techniques. (MBR)

This study compared the results of four different methods of observing teacher training. In addition, it used the results to identify those training techniques which seemed to be better at changing teachers' behavior in their classrooms. Twenty-nine teachers were trained by five trainers in five weekly training sessions, which were tape recorded.…

A three-year project was undertaken by the National Center for research in Vocational Education (Ohio State University, OH) to investigate time on task in vocational and technical classes. During the first year of the project, researchers used the direct observation method to collect time-on-task data pertaining to 10 teachers and 186 students in…