The study explored teacher attitudes towards gifted programming and the gifted label, and determined whether teacher attitudes changed after being involved with an elementary school gifted program. Twenty-nine elementary classroom teachers in Jefferson County, Colorado, were surveyed as their school was beginning to host a full-time,…

School policy which emphasizes the placement of handicapped children in the regular classroom has received acclaim both as a step toward equity and as an attempt to improve the academic learning and social adjustment of handicapped students. Although new teachers entering the system are better prepared than ever before to face the difficulties…

Communication between students and teachers is crucial at all educational levels and is particularly important in adult learning situations. Good feedback should be descriptive, specific, and constructive. Constructive feedback requires an atmosphere of trust and, above all, should not violate the personal integrity of either the sender or the…

A case study examined the student-teacher relationship in writing conferences to determine how both teachers and students can better negotiate teaching-learning situations. Students enrolled in a six-week tutorial writing course at the University of Michigan were used as subjects. Tape-recorded conversations in the weekly half-hour conferences…

The purpose of this study was to develop scoring categories to assess differences in how teachers describe their communication patterns with students, focusing on teachers' understandings rather than on their behavior. Case study data was used to look at differences in teachers' responsiveness to students in their classrooms. Data came from three…

A microcomputer simulation prepared for use within a masters' degree program in special education was examined with three research concerns in mind: (1) whether teachers would perceive the simulation as a viable simulation of classroom reality; (2) whether teachers using the simulation would interpret simulation descriptions similarly, or, if…

This study examined the locus of control of experienced teachers with reference to their gender and academic background; and ascertained the relationships between locus of control and: (1) educational attitudes in general; (2) attitudes toward change; (3) sense of responsibility; and (4) classroom teaching behavior. Subjects were 80 secondary…

The relative apparent difficulty of physics concepts at the grade 11 and 12 level was examined using a questionnaire survey addressed to all physics teachers within the providence of British Columbia. The physics courses were described using 22 concepts to cover the Physics 11 course and 30 concepts to cover the Physics 12 course. Subjects were…

An examination of teachers' responses to questionnaires identifying sixteen classroom academic and social behavior problems revealed different reactions to each type. A system was developed to measure the responses which were coded in terms of the extent to which they evidenced the presentation of standards or evidenced warmth. Teachers presented…

The intent of the framework presented here is to provide a scheme for thinking about cultural differences as they relate to what goes on in the English as a Second Language (ESL) class. The categories are: (1) cultural values; (2) views of teacher-role; (3) modes of learning; (4) teacher-student interaction patterns, and (5) norms of interaction…

The theory that teachers treat students from whom they expect superior achievement differently than those from whom they expect inferior performance is examined. Five ways of reacting on the part of the teacher are identified for the purpose of this study--teacher warmth, teacher feedback, teacher selection of materials, opportunity offered for…

Low-inference classroom observational data were collected on 362 children in four elementary schools (grades two to five) who had been consistentlV ranked by two successive teachers over a two-year period. Teachers ranked students on one or more of thirteen bipolar scales assessing personality characteristics and teacher expectations. Two-way…

This paper examines the process by which teachers adapt their teaching behavior to their students, including (1) how adaptation is manifested spontaneously through implicit matching of students and teaching styles, (2) how implicit matching can be analyzed, (3) how models for matching teachers' approaches to different students can be described,…

Summarized in the 13-page report are the goals, objectives, procedures, accomplishments, and problems in implementing the Montgomery County (Alabama) three-year career education pilot project. Emphasis has been on integration of career education in the regular classroom as the most effective means of teacher and student involvement. Of career…

The objective of this study was to assess changes in verbalized cognitive inquiry behaviors of teachers and students who participated in the McREL Instruction Staff Development Program in Inquiry. Twenty-four participating secondary teachers were videotaped before and after instruction. Teacher and student verbalized inquiry behaviors were coded…