Three case studies illustrate how recent classroom observation research has led to more active participation on the part of teachers, principals, and supervisors. The groups have worked closely to understand how the core French program works in the classroom. Participatory research is seen as an important professional development opportunity for…

Providers' demographic characteristics, training, support networks, business practices, and stability of services were examined relative to their caregiving practices. Results from a schematic model approach suggest correlations between some of these factors and variances in ratings of caregiver practices. (LB)

To determine whether men dominate language in a mixed-gender adult classroom, 4 lessons were observed and recorded at a training course for 10 supervisors in London. Men helped maintain women's silence by the competitive nature of their discourse. Men's linguistic domination is related to research on children's classrooms. (SLD)

Relations among self-reported social skills, teacher ratings of classroom behavior, and direct observations of social interactions among 87 adolescents with mild mental retardation were investigated. Results demonstrated that (1) four domains of social skills were related to students' task orientation; and (2) the three sources of information…

The status of formal recommendations is different in the naturalistic evaluation model than in the traditional empirical model. The evaluation of a high school peer support program for alcohol abuse prevention illustrates that reader-generated recommendations may have more usefulness and impact than do evaluator-generated ideas. (SLD)

This study of 86 children (ages 30-67 months) attending a community screening clinic found that 2 factors--parents' concerns about speech, language, or cognitive skills, and parents' ratings of the child's activity on a temperament scale--accounted for 27% of the variance in the likelihood of referral to early intervention services. (Author/JDD)

Fifth grade social behavioral profiles of 75 arrested and nonarrested adolescent boys were assessed to determine their ability to predict the later arrest status of the boys in grades 5-7. Using such measures as teacher ratings of social skills and observations of negative aggressive behavior, 75 percent of subsequently arrested subjects were…

Teacher educators visited the classrooms of elementary teachers they had prepared to observe and interview them. Their research discovered an interplay between the philosophy and pedagogy of their program and the graduates' practice, the individual teacher's preparation and practice and the school culture, and what observers saw and understood.…

This study documents the goals, purposes, and outcomes of a 6-week conductive education program for 10 children (ages 1-10) with cerebral palsy in Brisbane, Australia. Observations revealed little improvement in mobility or eating skills, though parents reported that their children had made gains in such areas as self-care, hand function, and arm…

This study used participant observation and interviews to evaluate the use of facilitated communication with two sixth-grade students with cognitive disabilities. Results indicated that facilitators provided a unique combination of support, tailored to individualized needs and including physical support, decision making, and negotiating of meaning…

Uses a "teaching as problem solving" perspective to examine the components of metacognition underlying the instructional practice of seven experienced and seven beginning secondary-school mathematics teachers. Data analysis of observations, lesson plans, videotapes, and audiotapes of structured interviews suggests that the metacognition of…

This study of graduate students examined the process and outcomes of novice and expert teachers who learned a classroom-observation coding system through a hypermedia learning environment. The training program was designed as a modular, skills-based approach that allowed user-controlled access to tutorials, guided practice, and independent…

The potential for clinical-judgment errors in assessing obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) makes this a good example for illustrating methods of debiasing and hypothesis testing. This article provides information about this frequently misdiagnosed disorder, delineates methods for assessment and treatment of OCD, and discusses implications of…

The purpose of this study was to foster preservice teacher learning of educational psychology by creating a Web-based learning community using actual case situations experienced during field observations. Participants (146 undergraduate students) were assigned to two electronic-conferencing groups where they generated teaching vignettes related to…

Twelve Swedish day-care centers were studied concerning patterns of adult behavior towards children, and adult intentions, attitudes, and norms regarding work and interpersonal relations. Found that patterns of adult behavior were proscribed by three different center climates: future focused, present focused, and combined. Three patterns of adult…