IT is one of the most common (and unsettling) occurrences in today's classrooms--the ringing of a cell phone, often punctuated by some silly tune or sound effect that announces to everyone that a call is coming in. Inevitably, educators say, it happens during an important part of a lecture or discussion, just when a critical point is being made,…

This article presents a systematic method for examining and evaluating written commentary. When used by writing instructors in authentic responding contexts, these reflective models can help instructors better understand their commenting practices in light of current response theories, establish clearer goals for making written commentary, and…

This article reports on the development of a new measure entitled: "Reactions to Teaching Situations" to indicate levels of emotional intelligence among beginning teachers. This article discusses the concept of emotional intelligence and defends the development of such a measure specifically related to the situations in the teaching environment,…

This article presents information on 2 international educational effectiveness studies, one completed and the other ongoing. The 2nd study is, to a large degree, a reaction to a methodological problem encountered in the 1st study, the lack of an internationally valid instrument measuring teacher effectiveness. This article presents 4 reasons for…

Although largely left out of the No Child Left Behind legislation, social studies remains a frequently tested subject on state-level standardized exams. As of 2004, 23 states conducted standards-based social studies tests, 10 of which could be considered high stakes. Where social studies will fit into the national testing picture is uncertain, but…

Four studies were conducted on how well teachers at various stages of development can decode a student's nonverbal behavior, particularly that which communicates a lack of comprehension. Participants in the studies were novice (n=9), advanced beginner (n=10), and expert (n=10) elementary school teachers. In the first study, the teachers viewed a…

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between teachers' perceptions of the supervisory conference as measured by the "Supervisory Conference Rating" (SCR) and the zones of indifference as measured by the "Zones of Indifference Instrument" (ZII). The SCR and the ZII were responded to by 159 teachers from 5 selected schools in…

This paper on the nature of instruction as it has been informed by instructional research is organized into two major sections. The background section describes the origin and evolution of the research that has been conducted into teacher response toward reading miscues, while the second section relates this research to other classroom research…

This study examined the effectiveness of a school psychologist's recommendations to teachers about student needs as influenced by variables of the psychologist's sex and expertise and the effort required of the teacher for compliance. (JH)

THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO DETERMINE HOW A PARTICULAR CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR WOULD APPEAR WHEN IT WAS VIEWED FROM FOUR EVALUATIVE FRAMEWORKS--DEVELOPMENTAL, MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANTIVE LEARNING, AND GROUP PROCESS. THE FIRST STAGE WAS DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOUR SCHEDULES FOR USE IN SIMULTANEOUS OBSERVATION OF THE SAME SAMPLE OF CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR. IN…

The "semester system" in Indian universities was examined in terms of why the system traditionally has not been working and what recommendations could be made to improve it. Part of the ineffectiveness was due to the fact that the design was "ad hoc" and arbitrary, hurriedly imposed upon inadequately prepared or informed…

The purpose of this study was to observe and describe the teaching behavior and interaction patterns of four elementary school physical education teachers longitudinally. Each teacher was observed twice a day (AM and PM) for a period of 20 consecutive days, resulting in 40 observations per subject. The following conclusions were reached: (1)…

An instrument was designed to allow respondents to freely express their opinions concerning the major learning problems of students in the public schools, the quality and nature of their teacher education programs, and their retrospective views of courses which would have met their needs better than the ones which were taken. The instrument used…

This study investigated the religious value patterns of elementary teachers in relation to attitudes expressed toward religious issues in the classroom. The variable "religion" was defined operationally in terms of a wide range of value patterns which might qualify as authentic value orientations in contemporary American society. A field…

The focus of a study (a follow-up to work by Rosenthal and others which has indicated that teacher expectancies are fulfilled in student performance) was the kind of teacher behavior which might eventuate following the experimental manipulation of an expectancy which could affect the performance of students. Subjects were female undergraduate…