Important aspects of field research in education were discussed at this seminar. A wide spectrum of topics included the theoretical foundations of field methodology, information gathering, access, validity, reliability, interpretation and explanation, limits of methods, ethical issues, and approaches to write-up and presentation of data. Four…

The purpose of this teacher resource paper is to assist preschool teachers in (1) interpreting the interactions of children in terms of educational growth, (2) insuring that planned interactions will stimulate growth related to program goals, and (3) developing realistic expectations of children. Three topics are discussed. In Topic A the reader…

This research was undertaken with the idea that it may be possible to learn about teachers' work lives through the investigation of teacher behavior and attitudes in an out-of-work setting. Group and individual behavior of teachers who habitually gathered at the same bar on Friday afternoons was observed in order to examine patterns of interaction…

College students need experiences in reading and reacting to good writing if they are to learn to read effectively. Observing and reacting is an important skill that encompasses many of the skills effective readers employ such as paraphrasing, understanding the structure of a piece of literature, noting the use of generalizations and specifics,…

This paper describes generalizability theory as an extension to the analysis of variance approach to reliability which allows the researcher to attribute variation to multiple sources, and a number of reliability coefficients to be calculated for most observational contexts. The applications of generalizability coefficients to characterize the…

A screening model to identify gifted elementary students (grades 3 through 5) was evaluated to reduce the inefficient use of the school psychologist's time. The screening devices used to select children for the final criterion measure were (1) training, observation, and nomination by teachers; (2) orientation and the use of a sociometric technique…

The interactional competence of 12 kindergarten children was studied through naturalistic research of their sociodramatic play in a classroom context. Data were collected by both videotape and trained observers. Contextual and interactional information was analyzed according to an Interactional Competency Checklist (ICC) designed by the author.…

Observational data on six first and second grade teachers were analyzed qualitatively to determine whether any of these teachers provided "assisted learning" during reading instruction. Assisted learning was defined as the teacher's intentional efforts to structure the students' learning experiences so that they could learn more easily.…

THIS REPORT IS THE FOURTH PROGRESS REPORT OF A STUDY OF HOW A PUPIL'S ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IS AFFECTED BY PARTICIPATING IN A PRESCHOOL HEADSTART PROGRAM. THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE HEADSTART GROUP IS BEING COMPARED WITH THE ACHIEVEMENT OF PUPILS WHO RECEIVED NO PRESCHOOL PROGRAM. THE PRESCHOOL INVENTORY TEST WAS USED TO MEASURE PUPIL ACHIEVEMENT IN 5…

THE REPORT DISCUSSED HOW TEACHERS WORKED IN VARIOUS SUBJECT MATTER AREAS AND COMPARED VARIOUS TEACHERS IN SIMILAR AND DIFFERENT AREAS. OBSERVATIONS WERE MADE OF SINGLE GROUPS IN DIFFERENT AREAS. OBSERVATIONS WERE MADE OF SINGLE GROUPS OF GIFTED CHILDREN IN THE FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH GRADES. MORE ABLE STUDENTS WERE FOUND TO ACCOMPLISH MORE, DELVE…

METHODS TO BE USED FOR EVALUATING A NEW FIRST-GRADE CURRICULUM IN READING AND WRITING WERE PRESENTED. THE CURRICULUM WAS DEVELOPED AS PART OF "PROJECT LITERACY," A COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM IN AREAS OF EDUCATION RELEVANT TO THE ACQUISITION OF LITERACY SKILLS. INTERRELATED TOPICS OF THE CURRICULUM INCLUDED READING (BOOKS, MAGAZINES,…

VARIOUS PATTERNS OF VERBAL INTERACTION WERE INVESTIGATED BETWEEN PUPILS AND TEACHERS IN CLASSROOMS WHERE FOUR TYPES OF MATHEMATICS LESSONS WERE EMPLOYED. TO DETERMINE IF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES EXISTED IN THE AMOUNT OF VERBAL INTERACTION IN THESE 4 APPROACHES, 12 SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL AND FRESHMAN COLLEGE MATHEMATICS CLASSES WERE USED TO TEST THE…

The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable instrument for observing the behaviors of caregivers in infant day care centers. Identification of custodial and developmental tasks of infant caregivers was accomplished by a review of the relevant literature, narrative recordings of infant caregivers, and verification of the tasks by a panel of…

This paper addresses four issues in the design and execution of behavioral observation in classrooms. These four issues relate to the consequences of using different observation intervals, schedules of observation, student sampling methods, and definitions of on-task and off-task behavior for reliability, means, and correlations of time on-task…

This study investigates the relationship between teachers' beliefs and practices in three kindergarten classrooms and identifies four factors which seem to influence that relationship. Information about the classrooms was collected using the classroom disclosure approach, a form of educational criticism which combines and adapts methods from…