This study evaluates a subjective performance-evaluation regime in place in the English public school system since the early 1990s. Under this regime, independent inspectors visit schools, assess schools' performance, and disclose their findings on the Internet. Inspectors combine hard metrics, such as test scores, with softer ones, such as…

This study was designed to identify aggressive actions in 12-, 18-, and 24-month-old infants and to investigate what type of responses these actions elicit in peers. Nine infants were observed and videotaped in interaction with each other and with toys. The focus was on four 18-month-olds observed in two sessions, one with an older child, the…

The purpose of this presentation is to describe the Classroom Process Scale (CPS) and its usefulness for the assessment of teaching effectiveness. The CPS attempts to ameliorate weaknesses in existing classroom process measures by including a coding of student involvement in learning, objectives being pursued, and methods used to pursue attainment…

Two elementary teachers were given systematic desensitization and behavior modification training to help them manage their feelings of anxiety and establish classroom control. Changes in teacher and student classroom behavior were recorded through daily observations by trained observers. The observers recorded teacher praise and criticism as well…

Both criterion-referenced testing and behavioral assessment share the basic assumption that test behavior is a sample rather than a sign. In addition, both types of assessment focus on response capabilities and performance in specified content domains. Although content validity has been traditionally recognized as essential to criterion-referenced…

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to provide a rationale for the design and use of a nonverbal coder-training system, and second, to present comprehensive coder-training packages theoretically based in the areas of (1) learning theory, (2) nonverbal research, and (3) instructional technology. Specifically, this training program is…

Some suggestions for improving the selection of prospective teachers of young children based on the identification of specific observational characteristics of effective teachers. (CS)

After noting that the principles of clinical supervision and management by objectives (MBO) may at first appear to be contradictory, the author briefly describes a system attempting to adapt and combine components of these two movements in a practical supervisory system in a secondary school. He first explains the supervisory process in general…

Most Australian teachers do not hold traditional methods of supervision in very high regard. A more acceptable form of supervision, clinical supervision, utilizes the information gathered from classroom observations to allow the teacher to gain a wider perspective on his or her own performance under non-threatening conditions. A limited survey,…

Studies in group homes have shown that behaviors suggestive of a reinforcing relationship with an adult and of adult teaching are inversely related to self-reported delinquency among group home adolescents. Adolescents (N=29) living in natural family settings completed several self-report measures of delinquency and drug use to determine whether…

A two-year study investigated writing in the elementary school. Data collected included field notes from observation of a second/third grade classroom, videotapes of selected classroom activities, weekly journals kept by the teacher reflecting her thoughts on teaching in general and on writing in particular, interviews with the teacher about the…

The effects of observational purpose are thought to impact on such diverse processes as categorization, behavior perception, trait ascription, and memory. The role of observational purpose in the categorization of behavior was explored to determine whether differences between trait and goal concepts affect certain information-processing…

These guidelines outline the role of the visiting team members and the team leader and familiarize the team with details necessary to conduct a comprehensive external evaluation of Wisconsin secondary vocational programs. First, the three goals of the on-site evaluation are outlined. A discussion of the team selection and team members' functions…

Past research has suggested that reliance upon implicit theories may depend upon the ambiguity or salience of provided cues. Previously unexplored factors were investigated to further an understanding of implicit theories related to group processes, by: (1) utilizing a no feedback control group in addition to high and low feedback groups; (2)…