The present study explores how the visualization of an actor network enables researchers to understand mediating processes better by investigating relationships and effects among elements and entities other than human-actor accounts. In particular, the study presents how visualization may facilitate an understanding of the dynamics and structures…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to reflect on some of the professional and practical challenges which emerged during the process of carrying out a small-scale action research project into different approaches to teaching English Literature in a Year-9 secondary classroom, completed in part-fulfilment of the requirements for a higher degree.…

This paper describes two researchers engagement with two teachers as they taught a middle grades mathematics course, Current Events Math, in a large urban school district. The researchers share bits of data and their ethical entanglements as they entered into the site to find the truth about what works in middle grades mathematics classrooms only…

This paper moves from the data collected during an ethnographic research conducted in Second Life, which focuses on the observation of different technological difficulties in educational experiences. The main research interests focused on the social dynamics of educational experiences in Second Life and the opportunity to develop a proper research…

With the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (2002) schools are challenged by high-stakes testing and the need to maintain a highly qualified teaching force. The focus of discussion is often effective interventions and strategies to assist students to become academically successful. However, a number of researchers (Kaplan &…

The development of the between-class, within-class analysis has facilitated a more refined analysis of classroom processes and influences: those which affect a class as a whole, a student within a class, or an individual student independent of context. However, a problem arises in using a between-class, within-class analysis to infer a particular…

Reviews various problems which create problems in research design for the classroom and advocates a divorce between research and evaluation. Bibliography. (MB)

A school system engaged an acoustical consultant to test designated classrooms to determine whether an acoustical problem existed. The consultant conducted tests and concluded that there was no problem. Findings from an investigation of the data differed appreciably from those of the acoustical consultant. Acoustical design criteria for remodeling…

Describes some current techniques of classroom observation and evaluation, an area long neglected by sociologists. (AN)

Recent developments in classroom climate research in West Germany are described. Special reference is made to classroom climate theory, climate structure, construction of climate scales, the role of climate as dependent and independent variable, and problems of research methodology. (Author/BW)

An examination of problems inherent to class size concepts suggests possible arrangements, given limited resources, for providing optimal classroom environments. Among the problems in determining class size are ambiguous definitions, measurement problems, and contradictory research findings. Traditional definitions of class size ignore such…

Classroom research is caught between lack of rigor and lack of richness. When multiple classrooms are used, and when the performance of different groups or levels of students is regarded as "repeated measures" (or split plots) and analyzed accordingly, much of the descriptive richness of the interactions may be regained. (Author)

Learning disability researchers often misconstrue their object of study, unexplained underachievement, by interpreting it neurologically and ignoring the classroom environment and the social forces shaping it. It is important to recognize that academic performance is shaped by larger extra-educational and political forces in society. (Author/KC)

Observation data from 46 classrooms demonstrated the importance of context in understanding teacher behavior. Student-teacher interactions for explaining and giving directions occurred a statistically different number of times in self-paced and other-paced (group or interactive) settings. (Author/GDC)

Fourteen adults who participated in planning their course were compared with 15 controls in a teacher-planned course. Findings suggest that participation in planning does not significantly influence achievement, satisfaction, or classroom environment, nor does environment influence satisfaction or achievement. (SK)