Forms used for evaluating teachers from every geographic area to the United States were examined to determine common characteristics. Thirty of 75 forms received from school districts (local educational agencies) were analyzed. A synthesis of evaluation schemes across the country includes certain characteristics: (1) each teacher must have a…

This pamphlet maintains that genuine discussions require a different agenda and teacher approach from other types of classroom sessions, and uses actual classroom transcripts as evidence and illustration. The first section, "Discussion as a Special Event," analyzes the patterns of common classroom interactions, finding a formal and…

Research studies on group versus individual bystander responses either have involved nonviolent emergencies or laboratory simulations. To investigate group versus individual bystander response to a violent assualt in a natural setting, 80 male college students (from an original pool of 393 white, male students) were observed either individually or…

This paper outlines considerations exploring the potential contribution of philosophic positions to the study of educational administration under three broad areas. The first is the ideas and methods of educational administration. Arguing that a variety of perspectives and approaches is needed, the paper discusses general philosophic theories and…

A comparison is made between the tools of observation and research used by journalists to study society and the media, and the qualitative and clinical research tools used in the social and psychological sciences. The first part of the paper, a journalistic approach to sociology, traces the notion of the sociologist as a super-reporter using…

Performance assessment (observational assessment) can be an effective alternative to traditional paper and pencil tests when measuring academic achievement. Benefits of performance tests include: (1) testing knowledge synthesis rather than just knowlege acquisition; (2) allowing for diagnosis of individual needs and an immediate adjustment of…

Self-serving biases in attribution have been widely explored; however, the effects of motivational factors on observers' causal attributions have been neglected in attribution research. To investigate these effects, observers' liking and perceived similarity toward a target person were manipulated. Subjects were 80 college students. The observer…

A code to systematically observe preschool settings in which handicapped children were placed was designed to determine the types of interaction and play behavior that occurs in these settings. The code records the following information: play area the child is in, how many children are in the same area, the play behavior the child is undertaking,…

Classroom observation represents a vital link among the student, teacher, and principal. Teacher observation strategies include the following: (1) give every staff member the option of a preobservation conference; (2) include the assistant principals in the process; (3) spend a day observing a particular department; and (4) make the…

Intended for teachers of the learning disabled (LD), the guide addresses philosophical and procedural issues in assessment. The first section introduces a philosophical framework which views assessment as an ongoing, goal-directed, integral part of the overall educational process. The remainder of the guide focuses on Wisconsin's procedures for…

Two papers on performance indicators are presented: (1) "Quality Control in Education: The Use of Performance Indicators," by Ernest Theodossin, and (2) "Developing and Using a Performance Indicator Instrument," by Theodossin and Craig Thomson. The first paper looks at the relationship between colleges and the manufacturing…

This study examined relationships among teachers' management effectiveness ratings, student achievement, social and academic participation structures, patterns of instructional sequencing, and teachers' contributions to thematic development in classroom lessons. Representative case samples were selected to explore effective and less effective…

The Certified School Personnel Evaluation Pilot Program (Outside Evaluator Project) has two primary purposes. The first is to compare evaluations performed by persons employed by an agency other than the units to which they are assigned with evaluations performed by locally-employed personnel. The second purpose is to determine the effectiveness…

In a microsupervision workshop experiment designed to investigate group differences in acquiring an indirect style of supervisory conference behavior, 18 elementary school inservice teachers were randomly assigned to a video-modeling, written-modeling and performance-feedback treatment or non-treatment. Criterion performances were the frequency…

An endless debate in social science research focuses on whether or not there is a philosophical basis for justifying the application of scientific methods to social inquiry. A review of the philosophies of various scholars in the field indicates that there is no single procedure for arriving at a valid statement in a scientific inquiry. Natural…