Based on the assumption that teaching behavior is influenced or determined by teachers' theories and beliefs of teaching, this study sought to examine how middle school science teachers perceive their instructional roles and how they go about improving their instructional effectiveness. Eleven teachers from two middle schools of the Midwest…

The present Topic Classification System (TCS) developed out of a 7-year period of research and supplements an earlier system (Aschner, Gallagher, 1965). The purpose of the system is to indicate 1) level of conceptualization (data, concept, or generalization); 2) the style of thinking (activity, description, explanation, evaluation-justification,…

Derived from the perspective which views teachers and students as rational humans with limited capacity of perception and reasoning, this study describes how teachers differentially treat students and examines what underlies the differential treatment. Three science teachers from an urban middle school in the Midwest participated in the study.…

As a result of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), instructional content and style were studied in six teachers teaching the concept of photosynthesis. The same BSCS curriculum program was used by all six teachers; all six had some previous BSCS training. The students in the six classes had been selected on the basis of high ability…

This report reviews 3 demonstration studies in which the Topic Classification System of classroom interaction analysis (a system of analyzing teacher objectives and student performance) was applied to 3 samples of classroom behaviors to determine the range and limitations of the system. In the introduction the system is discussed with reference to…