Assesses the use of clinical experience to improve the classroom performance of teachers and discusses in detail a research project at the University of Alberta that sought to identify effective teaching skills and to measure behavior changes of student teachers during their practicum experiences. (Author/WD)

The literature on alternatives to student ratings as means of evaluating college teaching is reviewed. Conclusions focus on the validity and reliability of such alternatives as peer evaluation, administrative ratings, self-evaluation, direct measurement of student achievement, and systematic observation of teacher behavior. (Author/MLW)

Observers coded student-teacher classroom discussions and laboratory conversations which could be described as advisement, interpretation, confirmation, or reflection. All four verbal response modes imply presumption of knowledge of the person addressed. As hypothesized, teachers were more presumptuous than students, suggesting a link to social…

Assessment of social skills is not viewed as an encapsulated diagnostic process but as one with ongoing impact on intervention programs. Assessment procedures which have developed from behavioral and social learning approaches to treatment appear to be reliable and useful. (Author/CP)

Classroom observations, interviews, and survey techniques were used to identify the attitudes and behaviors of teachers in integrated classrooms. Subjects were 10 women teachers, five Black and five White, of second- grade students. (MP)

Presented is a study of the methods which 21 science teachers were using in mixed ability classes of some secondary schools in the United Kingdom, and their opinions of the benefits and problems of mixed ability teaching. (HM)

Discusses ways in which parents can foster children's curiosity by engaging in activities with them and asking probing questions to help children find answers on their own. Activities described include mixing different substances with water to note changes, identifying trees by leaf shape and bark texture, observing squirrel behavior, and making…

Describes a technology-mediated field experience for preservice teachers built on an emerging Professional Development School network and a two-way television system. Surveys of participants in both televised and in-person observations indicated students preferred in-person observations, though very few said they observed educationally sound…

Describes study that examined the mobilization and implementation stages of introducing microcomputers into the elementary and middle schools of a school district. The use of interviews, naturalistic observations, and computer usage statistics is discussed, institutional and innovation characteristics are described, and the influence of teachers'…

Discussion of training needs of business and industry highlights a study that was conducted to compare the effects of a detailed instruction guide versus an outline format on instructor preparation, presentation, and participant reactions. Instructional effectiveness and instructional design are discussed, cost factors are examined, and further…

Describes how an elementary classroom teacher discovers and explores the power of aesthetic experience in an educational context. Discusses how the artwork of Vincent Van Gogh helps an exceptionally difficult class of 11-year-old female students in suburban Dublin, Ireland, become interested in their education. (KM)

The turn-allocation procedure for whole-group lessons is analyzed and compared for third grade classrooms in North America and Puerto Rico. Significant differences in classroom participation and discourse have roots in differing social interaction patterns in the two cultures and have implications for Puerto Rican students in mainland classrooms.…

Reports the findings of a descriptive case study carried out in Ontario, Canada, and designed to examine how a class of fifth- and sixth-grade students reacted to an integrated unit. Found that participating in the integrated unit was a positive experience for all the students interviewed. (KO)

Describes a university project to increase academic learning time in two rural Nebraska school districts. Outlines the use of teacher triad observation teams to increase teachers' awareness of time use in their classrooms and to provide teachers with objective information on which to base instructional process decisions. (SV)

Asserts that the need for precise and detailed procedures in the collection of qualitative data is of paramount importance. Describes qualitative procedures that were used in a research study of teachers' and students' perceptions of effective teaching and learning. (CFR)