A study was conducted to describe change (and lack of change) in instructional processes and teacher and student behavior when class size was reduced by one-third midway through the school year. Two second grade classes from two schools participated; one school was in rural Virginia, the other an inner-city school in California. Information was…

Psycho-epistemology provides a framework for this study on interrelationships among teachers, subject matter, and learners. Chapter 1 presents the polemics that lead to the problem, including sections on educational divergence, the noncumulative nature of knowledge in education, the divergence of opinion regarding the "best" teaching and…

Underneath teaching there lies a conceptual framework through which we view its role and purpose. Different frameworks vary in outlook and imply contrasting attitudes and values. Which one we adopt impacts on what and how we teach. This study explores what it means to think of teaching as a profession versus a vocation. Its focus is restricted to…

Research findings on teachers' perspectives on teaching tend to indicate that institutional pressures are not strong enough to control what teachers think and how they act within their classrooms. While teachers will conform to organizational demands, their basic teaching styles are likely to remain unchanged. This study explored the socializing…

The evaluation of the effectiveness of the classes for persons convicted of driving while intoxicated was based largely on analyses of verbal behaviors of participants and instructors, using the psychosocial theories of Erik Erikson. The established goals of the course emphasize that the information must be dealt with in a group situation where…

The Southern Regional Education Board administered a three-year Faculty Development in Nursing Education Project. Its three objectives were (1) to provide opportunities for faculty to improve their abilities to identify learning problems; study alternative learning strategies; present instruction appropriate to the learning types of students; and…

Teaching styles and possible sex-typed differences in teaching approaches were studied at Ohio State University. Classroom teaching behaviors of 167 professors were observed, and interviews with a subsample of 30 professors were conducted. Additionally, student reactions to these classroom behaviors were assessed through a questionnaire…

Based on theory and previous research done on the factors that affect student ratings of college instruction, it seems clear that different types of students prefer different types of instructors. The type is apparently a function of naturally occurring needs in the students' personalities and naturally occurring teacher behaviors which student…

Participation structures in two classrooms of culturally similar children (Indian) taught by teachers with different cultural backgrounds (both experienced, one Indian, one non-Indian) were investigated in an Odawa reserve community in Northern Ontario, Canada. Data came from direct observation, videotaping in classrooms and in some children's…

Implying the need for a reexamination of the theoretical bases for second language learning in the secondary school environment, this final report of a 2-year experiment, funded by the U.S. Office of Education and conducted in public secondary schools of Pennsylvania, involved 1,090 students of French or German in 1965-66 and almost 700 in…

This reference book for educators, administrators, parent groups, and creators and producers of teaching materials provides up-to-date information on the available programs and teaching materials of early childhood educational technology. Surveying trends in preschool educational technology, it examines administration, funding, expenditures,…

This issue contains the following articles: "Behaviorist and Rationalist Psychology and Language Teaching Theory," by William Gallagher; "TESL and Speech Communication," by Kay M. Yamada; "More on Using a Telephone Directory to Teach English as a Second language," by Betty M. Crethar; and "Supplementation of Opposites in Simple Predicate…

A study comparing the speech used by English-as-a-second-language teachers (N=4) when instructing beginning- and advanced-level adult classes found that display questions and self-repetitions were used much less often with advanced students, suggesting that students are being prepared, as they advance in classes, for real communicative…

This book, written from a British perspective, presents 17 papers on quality assurance in teaching at the university level. The first eight papers address issues of assuring quality and include: (1) "Quality Assurance for University Teaching; Issues and Approaches" (Roger Ellis); (2) "A British Standard for University…

Analyzes data from a questionnaire addressing preservice elementary teachers' negative attitudes toward social studies. Identifies and discusses six categories of concern: negative past experiences; lack of personal interest; confusion over the nature of social studies; conflicting beliefs; topic selection; and traditional teaching styles. (MJP)