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…

Reports on an ethnographic study of peer relations among children in two kindergarten classrooms in a desegregated school. Analyzes the way that a teacher's method of organizing classroom events affects the extent to which children engage in cross-racial friendships. (Author/GC)

Observed 34 children in a Midwest rural two-room school. Teacher strategies are described, as well as child behavior, as they differed from urban schools. Comparison of the Metropolitan Achievement Tests and the Science Research Associates (SRA) scores yielded little or no differences in performance between urban and rural children. (Author)

A six-year evaluation of the long-range benefits of bilingual education illustrates the utility of time series and between-group variance for programs involving linguistic and ethnic minority populations. Through the described Individualized Bilingual Instruction children were brought to a level of balanced bilingualism in approximately a…

Reports on a study in which attempts were made to instantiate the same task in a series of classroom lessons and activities and which used two process coding systems to evaluate teacher performance. Discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each type of coding system. (FL)

Reviews present and potential uses of videotape technology in behavioral research. Emphasis is placed on research methodology and the value of incorporating videotape in current research practices, including behavior observation studies, in modeling research, and in perceptual attribution investigations. Concludes with an analysis of advantages…

Established and newly arrived children in three nursery schools and two day nurseries differing in building design were observed in an effort to assess effects of architectural space on children's behavior. (RH)

Observations were made in 10 schools at the second-, fifth-, and seventh-grade levels of the forms of responses teachers and children provided to moral and social conventional transgressions. It was found that the responses of both teachers and children to social conventional events differed from their responses to moral events. (Author/RH)

Reviews studies on the psychosocial learning environment of science classrooms focusing on: (1) assessment of classroom learning environments; (2) predictive validity of environmental perceptions in science classrooms; (3) past criterion validity studies; and (4) directions for future research. (DS)

While total ontask behavior distinguished institutionalized children from children in community schools and special classes, it did not differentiate retarded children in community based classrooms from one another. (Author/SB)

Observations were conducted in desegregated elementary school classes to determine the relationship between classroom conditions and pupils' interracial behaviors. Diffuse positive intergroup contacts were more likely to occur when teachers emphasized interpersonal concerns. Purposeful intergroup contacts were facilitated by teacher patience and…

Evaluated differences among neglectful, behavior-problem, and normal mothers in their reports of child behavior problems and observed verbal behavior with children in situations requiring differing degrees of maternal control. Relative to normal mothers, behavior-problem mothers were most negative and were as controlling as neglectful mothers…

This study was concerned with the measurement of a set of indicators of teacher competence, defined by the teachers themselves as observable in their classroom behavior. It was concluded that keys could be constructed to yield stable and consistent measures of most indicators of competency. (Authors/JN)

Academic achievement of pupils working in small cooperation groups was compared to that of students taught in the traditional whole-class approach. Pupils in grades 2, 4 and 6 from small-group classrooms excelled on high level items; the groups did not differ on items measuring low level cognitive functioning. (Author/GSK)

The effectiveness of an instructional-learning management system designed to minimize the time needed for students to complete specified learning tasks and to maximize the opportunity for the individual students to complete the tasks is investigated. Instructional design makes use of teacher's and student's school time more effective. (Author/RD)