Two studies examined the relationship between metacognitive knowledge and performance among Japanese children. It was predicted that highly prosocial children would have more appropriate knowledge of helping than would children who were low in prosocial behavior. The first study involved 109 third graders and 129 fifth graders and examined the…

This report describes a model academic improvement program for 18 third graders with low achievement. Data from a questionnaire filled out by four teachers and from observations by the teachers revealed that students targeted for the program demonstrated low learning readiness skills, which resulted in less than desirable behavior, study skills,…

In Nebraska, where nearly 70% of elementary school districts are rural, there is much debate about whether students from small rural schools have educational opportunities equal to those of students from town or city schools. This paper compares the performance, participation, and behavior of high school juniors who attended elementary schools in…

This research probes the content and consequences of the decisions that teachers make while conducting a lesson. Subjects included 2 middle school teachers (grades 7 and 8) and 35 of their students. This research employed participant observation, informant interviewing, and shared viewing of a videotaped lesson to explore interactive decision…

A study investigated the instructional usefulness of HANGMAN, a computerized vocabulary development game, for university students of English as a Second Language. In the ten microcomputers available to students, the regular version of the game was replaced with a modified version in which all student key-strokes were recorded automatically.…

This study examines the use of teacher and student humor in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom. A summary and synthesis of previous research on theories of humor, humor and its use in society, and applications of humor revealed its importance as an object of study. An analysis of audiotaped transcripts of samples of ESL classes…

This seminar overview presents a summary of widely accepted findings by researchers on the qualities, behaviors, and characteristics of effective teachers. As defined in this paper, an effective teacher is one who can engage students in the learning processes, minimize disruptive behavior, and produce desired learning in a large number of…

Three researchers, addressing the problem of instructional improvement, identify sound research findings and cite problems associated with the transfer of these findings into classroom practice. Donald M. Medley, in "An Overview of Research on Classroom Teaching," identifies three variables which consistently differentiate between effective and…

A study was conducted to investigate issues related to the development of preschool children's self-definitions of attractiveness. Research questions were (1) At what ages can children state a self-definition of attractiveness? (2) Are self-definitions temporally stable? (3) To what degree are children's self-judgments similar to judgments made of…

A set of dimensions for describing teacher discussion style is presented in this paper written in 1963. In the task dimension, teacher style is defined in terms of statement posture (positive or negative assertion), discussion posture (teacher's attitude toward information, e.g., descriptive, analytic), statement types (value judgments or factual…

Project PATHE (Positive Action Through Holistic Education) was a 3-year delinquency prevention program implemented in seven schools by the Charleston County, Maryland public school system between 1980 and 1983. An evaluation of the PATHE program was conducted which compared PATHE schools to two non-PATHE schools. Year-to-year differences in the…

The concept of school discipline, based on controlling inevitable student misbehavior, has been replaced with "classroom management," which stresses methods of facilitating positive student behavior and achievement. This book attempts to provide teachers, counselors, administrators, and special educators with a comprehensive, practical description…

The overall goal of teacher consultation is to improve upon the teacher's problem solving skills by addressing the immediate objective of solving student-centered problems. This study investigated the effects of the Systematic Facilitative Approach to consultation (SFA) and a written orientation to consultation with elementary school teachers.…

This study investigated the behavioral responses of eight children to five alternate lesson types. Barker's assertion of the coercive nature of setting was examined. Questions addressed were: (1) Do children having the same or similar lessons behave asimilarly or differently? (2) Do children change their patterns of behavior as they move from one…

This paper describes an observational methodology designed to permit increased understanding of the day-to-day social world of school children. The methodology was developed in the course of investigations of the extent to which children classified as rejected on sociometric measures actually experience overt rejection at school. Discussions of…