Early literacy skill development at the preschool level is critical for later success in learning to read and other reading-related activities. Professional development (PD), specifically coaching via performance feedback delivered through email, may provide a viable alternative to other types of trainings (e.g. workshops) that are often…

What kinds of teacher collaboration are most likely to improve what teachers--and, ultimately, students--learn during their time in school? This study looks within and across different collaborative activities that occurred among one teacher team. Observational data analyzed through a sociocultural theoretical framework suggest how the structure…

The authors investigate how conversational routines, or the practices by which groups structure work-related talk, function in teacher professional communities to forge, sustain, and support learning and improvement. Audiotaped and videotaped records of teachers' work group interactions, supplemented by interviews and material artifacts, were…

The author discusses the role that ethnography can play in understanding interaction processes in physical education classrooms, with the aim being improvement of instructional techniques. The characteristics of ethnography are described as: (1) dealing solely with action-watching and analyzing the things people say and do; (2) dealing with action…

THE EQUIPMENT AND METHODS USED TO OBTAIN AND PROJECT 8 MM SOUND FILMS OF SPONTANEOUS, NONSIMULATED SAMPLES OF INTERACTIONS BETWEEN STUDENT TEACHERS AND PUPILS WERE DESCRIBED. THE SPECIAL EQUIPMENT TO BE USED BY OBSERVERS WHILE JUDGING AND RATING THE INTERACTIONS RECORDED IN THE FILMS IS ALSO DESCRIBED. FILMS WERE MADE OF 15-MINUTE LESSONS…

A review of Analyzing Teaching Behavior," Addison-Wesley Press, 1970, by Ned A. Flanders. (DB)

This five-part document presents three approaches to research on instructional improvement, with the final two sections concentrating on problems and implications for diagnostic prescriptive instruction. Part 1 reviews comparative instructional effectiveness studies. Part 2 discusses the Trait-Treatment Interaction Approach (TTI) which is…

It has been demonstrated that interaction analysis is a useful tool for helping teachers not only to hold illustrations of their teaching for future analysis but also to focus on and analyze specific aspects of their verbal instructional behavior. Apparently, four conditions are necessary to enable teachers to analyze and evaluate their…

The author focuses on various types of nonverbal communication, reactions of both students and teachers to nonverbal communication, and techniques of developing improved communication to support openness in the classroom. An extensive literature review is presented to support the thesis that the essence of communication is nonverbal; if someone…

Author provided an essay on the use of the Flanders Interaction Analysis in clinical supervision; in it, he stressed that interaction analysis is not an end but simply a tool to be utilized by supervisors for assisting in the instructional improvement process. (Author/RK)

A method providing objective analysis of teacher and student interaction is described in this article. Feedback derived from a matrix of the teacher's classroom behavior (prepared by a professional observer) provides objective information in 10 separate categories. The categories, characteristic of any teacher's classroom behavior and teaching…

A study investigated the process of instructional consultation with feedback, a faculty development method in which faculty consult instructional specialists. It looked at patterns of verbal interaction between consultants and teachers, differences in communication patterns of novice and experienced consultants, and whether the four recognized…

Certain features of the PLATO IV system allow the gathering of large quantities and varieties of information describing the interaction of students with computer based education courseware. Two kinds of information can be provided: (1) data concerning single student interaction, which must be analyzed manually; and (2) data summarizing activities…

Two experiences designed to develop perceptual frameworks for bringing education course content into personal relevance were tested. The study examined the effects of two experimental and one control experiences on change in teacher behavior and concern level. Forty-nine beginning preservice teachers were randomly assigned to one of three…