In order to understand how the database software or online database functioned in the overall curricula, the use of database management (DBMs) systems was studied at eight elementary and middle schools through classroom observation and interviews with teachers and administrators, librarians, and students. Three overall areas were addressed:…

The impact of the educational programs of zoos on the recreational visitor is addressed in this report. Unobtrusive or nonreactive research methods were employed as primary evaluative techniques by graduate social science students conducting six research projects at the Los Angeles Zoo. These studies were designed and implemented to examine: (1)…

Since objective data on the effectiveness of self-help groups are not available, participants' views of a program's value are instructive. A study was undertaken to contrast participants' (N=232) evaluations of their self-help meetings with independent observers' (N=11) evaluations and to describe the components of their respective views in terms…

Since the vicarious participation analogue is frequently used to provide modeling of appropriate counselor skills to beginning counselor trainees, this model and its various forms are of particular relevance to counselor training. An investigation was designed to examine the effects of the level of the simulation of a counseling session upon…

Student writing performance has not appreciably improved in the past decade. While there is evidence that teachers assign more writing than in the past, performance has not kept pace. Three urban schools that experienced significant improvements in students' writing achievement were studied. To glean ideas and examples, the authors observed…

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…