Grade inflation is a serious problem in multisectioned speech communication courses, and one of its principal causes is a desire for positive student evaluations and high enrollments on the part of professors and economically insecure departments (who need the funding generated by high enrollments). Positive student evaluations have been found to…

Despite the surrounding controversy, second language instruction for America's language minority children is an important educational issue for continued methodological innovation and examination. The most effective and productive classroom interaction processes and dynamics in bilingual and second language instruction are still not appropriately…

Two groups of teachers of English as a second language (ESL), a California group of 133 and a Venezuelan group of 55, were surveyed about their perceived areas of instructional need. The three top needs of the California group were ESL instruction in the content areas, program design for preliterate students, and materials development. The needs…

A faculty development process was developed to inform faculty about the diversity of characteristics among students in large classes at a large, land-grant institution. Data were collected on 4,300 students enrolled in 33 sections of large introductory-level classes taught by 26 faculty. A total of 149 study variables were considered based on…

Based on a population of 2,031 second and fifth grade students, ten classroom situations were studied for their relative effects on reading achievement. The relative merits of criterion versus norm-referenced tests also were examined. Data came from teacher questionnaires and student scores on multiple choice cloze tests (the criterion-referenced…

Because good teachers are in short supply, it is necessary to find ways of increasing their effectiveness. Students learn as much from television as from conventional instruction when the programs are viewed for academic credit. Experiments at Pennsylvania State University (1954; 1956-57) showed that it is difficult to assess the value of such…

This report summarizes evaluation results for AISD's federally-funded Title VI class size reduction program activities during the 2000-2001 school year.

Progressive format or sequencing of strategies in the conversation class is proposed as a solution to the problems of conversation grouping for foreign students. Structures and formats and sample activities are outlined for the six activity categories or strategies: restructuring, one-centered, unified group, dyad, small group, and large group.…

Describes the introduction of a closed-circuit interactive television system into medical school teaching in London. Plans to incorporate large group lectures and small group bedside teaching are discussed, communications technology is explained, teacher training programs are discussed, and technical and educational evaluations are described,…

The use of writing exercises to promote critical thinking in large pharmacy classes is discussed. Techniques for targeting specific higher order thinking skills, different types of in-class writing activities, and evaluation methods (self-evaluation, peer evaluation, feedback) are outlined. (MSE)

Observed six children from two primary grade classrooms in different instructional settings: teacher-directed/large group; teacher- and child-directed/large and small group; and child-directed. Children's choice was related to high levels of cognitive functioning, language production, cooperative behavior, and generative use of materials. (MM)

By adopting interactive methods and being sensitive to students' concerns, teachers can minimize uncivil behavior, even in large classes. Solutions found helpful by a number of faculty members focus on several issues, including setting clear expectations, addressing majority needs and rights, taking a proactive approach, and personalizing large…

This paper describes the development and evaluation of a blended learning resource in the biosciences, created by combining online learning with formal face-face lectures and supported by formative assessments. In order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching large classes with mixed student cohorts, teaching was delivered through…

Classroom assessment of writing is considered from an anthropological perspective as practitioners' tool use. Pan Canadian data from a 2002 English teacher questionnaire (N = 4070) about self-reported assessment practices were analyzed in terms of tool choice and use by secondary teachers of different experience and qualification levels. Four…

First published in 1951, this guidebook for college instructors and teaching assistants was written to answer the questions posed by new college teachers, to place them at ease in their jobs, and to get them started effectively in the classroom. The book contains the following parts: (1) Getting Started (e.g., course preparation, meeting the…