This study describes problem solving instruction by nine seventh grade mathematics teachers and compares it to basic skills instruction. Comparison of the activity structures and teacher and observer ratings reveals few major differences between types of instruction. Between-teacher differences in activity structures were greater than differences…

A quasi-experimental treatment-control group investigation was designed to test the effects of introducing research findings from effective teaching and school leadership into ongoing school settings. Significant treatment effects were found for the transfer of all staff developer behaviors and four of ten categories of effective teacher…

Cites court cases where school boards presented evidence that a teacher's lifestyle or conduct provided grounds for dismissal. (HOD)

This research provides lengthy proof of a principle of social science known as Campbell's law: "The more any quantitative social indicator is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor." Applying…

This final report/doctoral dissertation describes activities and accomplishments of Project LIFT (Looking at Intervention Factors with Teachers), which assessed the relationships among classroom intervention acceptability, integrity, and effectiveness. Two studies were conducted. The first involved observing interventions implemented in 10 Iowa…

The role of feedback in training settings was examined in a survey-based study of feedback in nine 5-day management development training courses in a United Kingdom government agency. The courses followed a highly standardized curriculum and delivery process. Although the courses were primarily instructor-and theory-centered, they also included…

This paper introduces a qualitative study, currently in progress, entitled "The Moral and Ethical Bases of Teachers' Interactions with Students." The main focus of the study is the teacher's role as moral agent and the orientations within the classroom toward issues of right and wrong as identified by teachers and the researchers. The…

This report describes a plan for motivating students to read in order to allow them to enjoy and appreciate literature and to provide the practice necessary to become effective readers. The targeted population consisted of first and fourth grade students in a middle class community, located in the Middle West. The problems of minimal time engaged…

This study examined how Turkish students in an English preparatory school expected their teachers to manage their classes. A sample of 161 students who were studying at the English Preparatory School at Erciyes University were administered the Questionnaire of Preferred Teacher's Classroom Management Behaviors. The questionnaire included 32 items…

This paper examines the relationship between teaching style and gender. Faculty at the school of education in a mid-Southern university were asked to complete the Van Tilburg/Heimlich Teaching Beliefs Scale and a demographic profile. The response rate was 57 percent, with 47 percent of the replies from male teachers and 53 percent from female…

This paper discusses the role of high school chemistry teachers' beliefs in implementing computer visualization software to teach atomic and molecular structure from a quantum mechanical perspective. The informants in this study were four high school chemistry teachers with comparable academic and professional backgrounds. These teachers received…

Presents a qualitative analysis of an episode from a beginning teacher's biology lesson to demonstrate the intricate relationships among teacher intentions, curriculum materials, teaching, and potential student outcomes. Develops the concept "epistemological flatness" as a way of characterizing salient aspects of curriculum materials and…

Describes research on early experiences (reality shock) of young teachers at the beginning of their careers, indicating roots of these experiences. Also describes teacher training courses (focusing on pre-service training for physics teachers and in-service training for new teachers) designed to help teachers cope with reality shock and its…

Presents three different papers: (1) mathematical models and understanding in science; (2) attitude shaping in the training of science teachers (a role-playing strategy for laboratory safety and mini teaching as opposed to micro teaching); and (3) a technique in the analysis of technical writing to improve reading skills of students. (SK)

Training produced significant changes in the teaching behavior, self-ratings of teaching ability, and student ratings of instruction of graduate teaching assistants. Response-shift bias was noted in the self-reports and controlled through the collection of retrospective pretests. (Author/CP)