The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between teacher behaviors and pupil behaviors, achievement, and attitudes. The study was conducted in six elementary school classrooms. Eight high-inference scales were also used to obtain measures of classroom management, instructional skills, and interpersonal skills. It was…

A study of communication patterns in a desegregated school, located in an urban middle class black neighborhood, revealed "meddlin" (verbal and nonverbal aggression) to be a key area of cultural dissonance. This pattern is more common among blacks. Name calling, rumor mongering, body bluster, verbal intimidation, taking or destroying…

The six studies reported on here sought to determine if patterns of behaviors could be determined in the verbal and nonverbal communications of teachers toward pupils, and if there were differences in these patterns when such variables as sex, race, ability, age, and socioeconomic status were considered. Videotapes of over 100,000 teacher/pupil…

Noting that the verbal interactions that transpire between teacher and student in the classroom setting are central to the instructional process, this paper offers reading teachers a systematic means of examining their own interactive patterns in the context of oral reading instruction. In addition, it provides teachers with a way of inspecting…

Based upon the communications process model of teaching and learning, the Miniaturized Total Interaction Analysis System (Mini-TIA) establishes a conceptual framework for observing symptomatic classroom behaviors. It provides a means for the evaluation of classroom communication. Interpersonal communication is defined as either verbal (using…

A functional typology of verbal instructional tasks for advanced classroom instruction and inservice training is described and illustrated in this paper. The described typology is based upon functional definitions of elementary and conceptual behavior and incorporates the kinds of goals and objectives that surveys and research have shown to be…

This paper reviews several studies that have sought to explain the role of nonverbal communication in education contexts. The specific areas that are explored include kinesics, eye contact, paralanguage, classroom environment, proxemics, and physical appearance. After reviewing research in these areas, the paper examines the research conclusions…

This guide suggests an observation strategy to be used by principals or administrators to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the kindergarten program in their schools. The observation strategy is based on description and analyses of four dimensions of a learning environment: space, time, people and things. Section I contains a series of…

THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHS, CHARTS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS, THE DIFFICULTIES OF COMMUNICATION ARE PRESENTED IN THIS BOOK. TOPICS CONSIDERED FIRST ARE THE RECEIVING AND EVALUATING OF SENSORY EXPERIENCE, AND THE TRANSLATING OF THIS EXPERIENCE INTO SYMBOLS, INTO THE SILENT LANGUAGES OF TIME, COLOR, AND SPACE, AND INTO COMMON WORDS. THE EMPHASIS IS THEN SHIFTED…

Comments of experienced teachers suggest that writing may be avoided in school not simply because of its inherent difficulty, but because its undertaking typically lacks connection to anything else in the lives of students or teachers. It is possible that teachers can best serve the acquisition of writing skills by structuring the social occasions…

This module is designed to facilitate communication among students and between students and teachers by conducting selected classroom exercises which will increase pupils' understanding of communication processes and improve their communication with each other. The module consists of a pretest, posttest, and four exercises entitled: Introductions,…

The goal of this panel was to develop the means to improve the reliability, validity, and utility of analyses of human interaction in learning settings. Research on interaction itself, as well as its association with the variables of student learning, student characteristics, setting characteristics, and teacher education were all concerns of this…

This is a review of studies designed to assess the attributes of teacher-student interaction predicted to be correlated with student achievement. The paper includes: (1) a summary review of the types of teacher characteristics found to be correlated with student achievement and attitude; (2) a summary of the research done using the Flanders…

To identify speech skills necessary to effectively teach the oral dimension of language, 137 secondary school teachers of English in Alabama were asked to complete a questionnaire on (1) their undergraduate education, (2) their knowledge of speech, and (3) those speech activities perceived useful in facilitating instruction in oral English. The…

An investigation was conducted to determine the magnitude and direction of the congruence of communicated expectations for teachers and students in the University City (Missouri) American Studies Program (an 11th grade history-literature, process oriented curriculum; (see SP 003 560) and for two conventional American history programs. A previous…