The authors report on a study of 120 secondary schools and 893 related classrooms that compared instructional approaches used in vocational and nonvocational classes. Results suggest that vocational classes offer alternative approaches to instruction that differ from those employed in academic settings. (Author/CH)

The authors review research on effective practices in secondary schools with relevance for secondary teachers of learning disabled students. Three elements appear to be related to student learning: time for student learning, teacher-student interaction, and lesson structure. Research on each of these elements is reviewed and suggestions made for…

Hearing impaired students and on-task classroom time were examined in a study of hearing impaired classrooms. Characteristics of the effective teacher of the hearing impaired included: avoidance of excessive reprimands, maintenance of sufficient contact time for comprehension, and periodical monitoring of comprehension. (Author/DF)

The authors examine the content, time, teacher performance, and leadership policies which have been legislated in several states as a result of the national wave of discontent with the quality of education. Emphasis is on the need for implementation of these policies to be informed by recent reseacrh. (MT)

High school students were observed to investigate time-on-task and learning gains. Classroom observation and learning gain measurement showed that a lecture/discussion instructional technique led to the highest student achievement. Use of seatwork caused the least amount of achievement. (DF)

This document provides administrators and instructional supervisors a framework for thinking about teaching and learning in secondary schools and suggests specific focal points for working with teachers to maintain and improve teaching effectiveness. The first section contains a discussion of instructional time and its meaning for secondary…

Data from 60 observations of 10 teachers and 10 each of their students showed that type/quality of teaching strategy predicted 37 percent of variance in engagement and that the more indirect the teaching strategy, the greater the students' involvement in learning tasks. Implications of these and other findings are discussed. (Author/JN)

Investigated whether teachers involved in a classroom management inservice program would demonstrate more of the recommended teaching behaviors than teachers not so trained, and whether students in the classes of those teachers would spend more time engaged in appropriate learning activities than those in other classes. (FL)

Data for this study were collected by observing 60 secondary school English classes over a four-month period. The principals of six schools chose 15 of their most effective teachers to be observed. Four questions were addressed: (1) How do teachers and students spend classroom time together?; (2) What instructional processes are used most often?;…

The effects of a free-time contingency on the grammar skills of nine mildly handicapped students were investigated in this article. Use of free time was correlated with improved skills by all students. Problems and benefits of the procedures are discussed. (Author/DF)

The Academic Learning Time in Physical Education (ALT-PE) instrument is a popular research tool for investigations of student engagement patterns in physical education settings. This study examined student engagement patterns in a large Canadian urban center measured with the 1982 version of the ALT-PE instrument in a variety of secondary physical…

Student involvement in 24 science classes (grades 8, 9, 10) during instruction involving teacher exposition, exposition with prop, and demonstration was videotaped. Findings indicated that only nine teachers used class demonstrations and that the increased levels of pupil attention and task involvement increased during demonstration lesson…

Three studies were made of the implementation of the Australian Science Education Project (ASEP) materials in secondary classes in Victoria, Australia. The materials were designed to facilitate a more individualized approach to the learning of science. The first implementation study sought the perceptions of teachers, the second analyzed student…

Suggests methods of effective teaching that help the beginning teacher organize the classroom and develop relationships with other teachers and students. Suggestions include communicating with teachers, long-range lesson planning, information cards for students, and alphabetical seating charts. (MDH)

At the end of the 1992-93 school year, Dutch schools finished their preparations for a new core curriculum for the first stage of secondary education. One of the problems teachers faced in implementing this curriculum was the problem of class heterogeneity. How teachers dealt with heterogeneity was studied through an examination of the use of…