THIS RESEARCH ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF SELF-CONCEPT OF ABILITY TO ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN HIGH SCHOOL WAS BASED ON THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK COMMONLY IDENTIFIED AS THE SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONAL THEORY OF BEHAVIOR. THE BASIC POSTULATE WAS THAT ACADEMIC BEHAVIOR OR SCHOOL LEARNING IS LIMITED BY THE STUDENT'S SELF-CONCEPT OF HIS ABILITY, AND THAT…

This study attempted to determine the effects of students' motor ability level on teacher expectations and dyadic interactions within individual, competitive, and cooperative instructional settings in elementary physical education classes. Results are discussed. (Author/DF)

Provides additional evidence to work by Rosenthal and others which has indicated that teacher-experimenter experiences are fulfilled in student-subject performance. (MB)

In 3 of 5 Australian grade 8 math classes, 5 students, most high ability males, dominated teacher-student interactions in whole-class activities. These students' involvement was facilitated by behaviors of teachers and students and by management problems prevailing in these classes. In a fourth class the teacher systematically involved a larger…

Controversy, an aspect of small-group interactions, was investigated in 10 mixed-ability, mixed-sex, elementary math groups through analysis of dissension episodes. Results showed that boys and higher-ability students had significantly more prevailing answers and demonstrations. (Author/LMO)

Interaction process analysis was used to study the verbal behavior patterns of 10 junior high science teachers. For each teacher, the highest and lowest ability intact classes with whom the teacher worked were studied. Findings revealed that teachers were significantly more indirect and asked more divergent and evaluative questions of the higher…

This study recorded and analyzed 96 student discussion groups to identify successful dialogue strategies; to highlight difficulties deriving from group characteristics; and to examine how students behave, what they gain, and which students benefit most. A model of a successful discussion is outlined and study findings considered. (Author/SJL)

A role playing exercise is presented that can be run either with or without video-tape depicting a problem student in a play-acted version. Suggestions are offered for organizing the exercise, which is a meeting of professors, a residence hall worker, the assistant registrar, a tutor, and possibly a college counselor. General instructions for role…

Using methods employed by Chaikin et al (1974) and Chaikin and Derlega (1978) to determine when tutors are susceptible to expectancy effects and whether expectancies lead to discrimination against low ability students, black undergraduates (N=76) taught a lesson on fire safety at home to a 10-year-old boy. Two black male and two white male…

This study quantified possible changes in the classroom learning experiences of high- and low-ability pupils, which might accompany an organizational change from streamed to mixed-ability classes for science learning in secondary schools. Deteriorations in the quality of the classroom interactions of both high- and low-ability pupils were found.…

Sex differences in children's reactions to failure feedback in school situations were investigated by assessing the ways in which teachers use negative evaluation in the classroom. Three aspects of teachers' evaluative feedback were studied: (1) ratio of negative to positive feedback; (2) contingency vs. noncontingency of feedback; and (3) (the…

The results of this research have relevance for sport educators who are integrating sport classes and who are concerned with the interpersonal interactions of boys and girls playing together. The author hypothesized that males and females would prefer to interact in a sport setting with members of their own sex and ability level. The results of an…

A study of third-year medical school discussion groups was undertaken to determine how much the cognitive level of instructors' questions in small group sessions influenced student responses and whether these responses had any measureable relationship to critical thinking skills, or National Board of Medical Examiner (NBME) scores. The research…

The purpose of this field study was to test a "macro-model" stemming from earlier research on ability grouping. Dependent process variables such as methods of instruction, and time for school and homework were studied as a function of grouping characteristics of the class. The main data are "macro" in the sense that they refer…