This paper presents findings of a study that examined how teachers restructuring schools came to understand the meaning of the term "unity of purpose." Fourteen Louisiana schools, comprised primarily of high-risk student populations, implemented the accelerated-schools model of restructuring. The accelerated school model is based on…

This study examined how perceived teacher support of classroom questioning relates to other dimensions of teacher effectiveness, and how dimensions of teacher effectiveness are related to antecedents of classroom questioning. The study evaluated end-of-term ratings by college students (n=806) from 39 classes that suggested the following: (1)…

Two papers on classroom teaching techniques and classroom environment in Botswana are presented. The first paper, "Is Teacher Training Associated with Teachers' Classroom Behavior? A Study of Botswana Junior Secondary School Teachers" by David W. Chapman and Conrad W. Snyder, Jr., investigates the extent to which teaching behaviors…

The role of ethics in institutional management and instruction and the need for ethics codes have been identified as major issues currently facing community colleges in the United States. In general, ethics codes represent professional ideals, serving as guides for behavior and establishing principles of performance. A study was recently conducted…

This study was designed to assess the roles played by middle school educators while participating in a collaborative teaching program which combined a regular educator, a special educator, and their respective students for one period of content instruction per day. During one semester, six teams of two teachers in three different middle schools…

A study examined how one sixth-grade teacher's theoretical beliefs about literacy and biliteracy were reflected in her instructional practices. The subject taught in an English-Spanish bilingual classroom in a public school located in a neighborhood of low- to middle-class families in a large, southwestern city. Data included field notes…

This study explored how early childhood practitioners perceive young boys and girls in the classroom. Specific research questions addressed include: (1) Are the perceptions that practitioners have of young boys and girls significantly different?; and (2) If there is a difference, what is the nature of that difference? The study identified whether…

In an effort to assess community college teachers' level of acceptance of and willingness to implement administrative directives, a survey instrument and personal data sheet were delivered to 130 public community college teachers in Mississippi. A modified Zones of Indifference instrument was used to assess respondents' attitudes towards 71…

Community college instructors and administrators need to understand teacher immediacy research and the role of immediacy in the multi-cultural classroom. Immediacy can be viewed as a combination of nonverbal behaviors used to accentuate a verbal message and reduce physical and psychological distance between interactants. Janis Andersen's research…

Calls for elementary teachers to reform their classroom practice in mathematics are coming from all sides. They are being asked to shift their teaching from an approach based on "transmission of knowledge" to student-centered practice. In order to assess elementary teachers' current goals and activities in teaching mathematics, a survey…

A study was conducted at Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology, in Ontario, Canada, to determine student and faculty perceptions of teacher effectiveness. Discussions with 10 nursing students identified 7 factors contributing to teacher effectiveness. A questionnaire, asking respondents to rank these seven characteristics, was distributed…

A study examined how teachers' attitudes and beliefs affect their enactment of literature-based curriculum materials, whether student attitudes differ in accordance with the teacher's orientation, and whether student achievement in reading and writing differ in whole language and traditional classrooms. Two "whole language" and two "traditional"…

Highlighting typical days in a variety of whole-language classrooms, this book describes learners of all ages, beginning with a home day-care setting through preschool programs and elementary classrooms to a junior high and high school. The book also describes a special education site and an English-as-a-Second Language classroom, and concludes in…

A fifth-grade teacher researched the experts, observed master teachers, and experimented to find out what worked best for her and her students as she made the transition from the basal to the process approach to teaching the language arts. Taking courses and meeting with others helped support her decision to change. During the process of change,…

This conference presentation describes study groups as a mechanism for changing teacher behavior. The history of study groups is discussed, beginning with the first American study groups organized by Benjamin Franklin; the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle; the waning of study groups in the early 20th century as college enrollment…