Under normal instructional circumstances, some youngsters learn programming in BASIC or LOGO better than others. Clinical investigations of novice programmers suggest that this happens in part because different students bring different patterns of learning to the programming context. Many students disengage from the task whenever trouble occurs,…

The thesis of this paper is that systematic research approaches must be developed if the study of play is to avoid a short-lived "in" period before another 30-year hiatus, such as the one that occurred between 1940 and 1970. This paper reviews the present status of research on play, drawing examples from studies of the past 10 years that…

The Collaboration for the Improvement of Teacher Education (CITE) project brought teachers and administrators from four public school districts together with Eastern Michigan University professors to design and implement a research-based pre-student teaching program. The major goal of the program was to develop reflective pedagogical thinking in…

This guide is designed to present a variety of techniques that can be used in conducting classroom observations. Observation techniques are clustered under four major teaching/learning variables: time on task, teacher talk, classroom interaction, and organization and management. Techniques are presented with an overview that details the rationale…

This module, developed by the Research Applications for Teaching (RAFT) project, was written to introduce the preservice teacher to the research base for effective teaching. Particular attention was given to the characteristics of teachers and teaching found in research literature to be associated with achievement and the development of positive…

The development of critical ethnography in education is traced, and the central epistemological and methodological issues in the practice of critical ethnography are discussed. Some of the directions the field appears to be taking are considered. Critical ethnography in education began in the late 1960's and early 1970's, with roots in the…

This project developed a field-based program that trained 40 teachers, 17 for early childhood handicapped programs and 23 to work with severely handicapped children. The program complemented existing credentials and master's degree programs at California State University, Northridge. During a full year of supervised practicum, the students were…

Guidelines for evaluation of school programs in the State of Florida are presented. The purpose of evaluation is to modify the content and method of instruction, provide information to decision-makers and the public, provide feedback to participants, and determine criteria for program success. The optimal evaluation design for either innovative or…

The document is part of the final report on Project STEEL (Special Teacher Education and Evaluation Laboratory) intended to extend the utilization of technology in the training of preservice special education teachers. This volume focuses on the first of four project objectives, the development and implementation of a microcomputer-based…

This document reports an evaluation of the orientation program in Australia for hosted Year Program students. Qualitative and quantitative data were used in the evaluation. The techniques included on-site observation of the orientation and interviews with 141 participants and 23 staff members from 12 countries. Although no written goals were…

Case study research, as presented here, is a way to interrelate the theory and practice of education and to improve the contributions of comparative and international research studies. This paper argues that there are four levels of concern in comparative and international education: the development and transmission of ideas about education; the…

Observations of one mainstreamed child and one "ordinary child" at each of 12 day care centers were compared. Five of the 12 mainstreamed children were mentally retarded, and seven had a slight developmental retardation mainly due to deprivation. Observations of 10-minute duration, totaling 4 hours and dispersed across 7 days, focused on…

Perspectives concerning a field-based inquiry approach to medical education are offered. This approach requires that inquiry tactics more closely match educational and clinical processes. Assumptions about naturalistic and quasi-experimental educational research are considered that indicate a common field-based approach to inquiry. Parallel…

The nature of classroom activities, cognitive learning opportunities, and instruction in seventh and eighth grades within the academic subject areas was examined. The purpose was to describe and interpret classroom learning opportunities in terms compatible with the complexity of typical classroom events and teachers' understanding of those…

A study was conducted to describe the experiences of five preservice teachers who taught in a special practicum without cooperating teachers. Prior to the practicum, the student teachers were interviewed to ascertain their views on teaching reading and what they hoped to gain from the practicum to further prepare them to teach it. Each student was…