Details the post occupancy evaluation (POE) process for public buildings. POEs are used to improve design and optimize educational building and equipment use. The evaluation participants, the method used, the results and recommendations, model schools, and classroom alterations using POE are described. (9 references.) (RE)

Reports the results of detailed observations conducted in four Grade 9 French classes during one school semester in one school district in Eastern Canada. Results suggest teachers were implementing the multidimensional project-based core French curriculum prescribed by the Ministry of Education in different ways. (Author/VWL)

Describes a tool for use by clinical medical preceptors for making brief (5 to 10 minute) focused observations of students and record them in specific, nonjudgmental language, even if feedback does not occur immediately. The teaching-observations sheets can be reduced to three-by-five-inch or other convenient format, are flexible, and help the…

This article discusses how speech-language pathologists are in a strategic position to identify the problems, carry out an evaluation of feeding and swallowing skills, and determine the needs for medical team referral. It focuses on guidelines for obtaining a history, physical examinations, and observing a typical meal. (Contains references.)…

A study of general and English-as-a-Second-Language elementary classrooms investigated teacher and student functional uses of language. The need to use dynamic assessment procedures and ethnographic observations to distinguish between a language disorder and typical difficulties associated with second-language acquisition is discussed. (Author/CR)

Summarizes a descriptive naturalistic study of the literary competence of a class of first and second graders as suggested by their responses during read-alouds of picture books. Finds that the children were sophisticated literary critics, and the storybook read-aloud situation was an important site for the development of their literary…

Observes a 9-year-old third-grade student at home and at school. Reveals the disparity between Laura's highly contextualized knowledge of science and the school science curriculum. States that teachers do not value Laura's strong observational and analytical proclivities and that both she and her teachers think of Laura as an academic failure. (SR)

The influence of two subgroups (male and female) on their larger middle-school community are examined. Participant observation of two single-sex classes in an urban middle school reveals both negative and positive effects. The classes differed in organization, goals, sense of community, and actual or potential fracturing or strengthening effects.…

University education students examined three strategies to teach drawing--self-expression, observational drawing, and incorporating language input--to primary school students. Findings suggested that particular characteristics of language strategies were most successful in promoting learning, especially when instructors were clear about the type…

A York University (Ontario) project in which four French second-language teachers paired with peers for observation of their classroom techniques and interactions is described. It is concluded that this form of extensive peer- and self-evaluation is a powerful tool for understanding the complexity of language teaching and learning. (Contains 14…

To enhance teaching effectiveness, university professors need multidimensional feedback on classroom transactions. The Teaching Feedback Model is a process that combines systematic observation of student and teacher behaviors with analysis of student learning. The paper describes the model, demonstrating its current use in college-level physical…

Examines two theoretical approaches on how we understand our own and others' minds: a causal explanatory and an interpretive social approach. Explores the relations between these views and suggests that the real challenge of the cognitive revolution is to unite the two approaches, to achieve a causal naturalistic account of the acquisition and…

Suggests that a better understanding of the development of children's theories of mind, requires theoretical perspectives that do not privilege the child who conceptualizes or actively participates in social interactions. Proposes that a better understanding of the relationships among brain, psyche, behavior, and culture should be promoted. (AA)

Examines Astington and Olson's proposal under the context of von Wright's and Hempel's theories of explanation and understanding. Suggests that for taking children's meaning making seriously, researchers should find a principled way to acknowledge the role of interpretation in scientific thinking even in the making of explanation itself. (AA)

Examines the relationship between causal-explanatory and interpretive-hermeneutic approaches to how we understand our own and others' minds. Suggests that the two approaches discussed by Astington and Olson are mutually enlightening but, contrary to the proposed position, are irreducible to each other. (AA)