The author, using a weight machine in an airport lounge, varies the machine's input parameters of height and gender to generate data sets of ideal weight. These data are later used at in-service workshops and in both primary and secondary classrooms to explore patterns and make predictions. (JJK)

Used observation and interviewing techniques adapted from ethnography in lifespan human development courses. Technique assisted students in becoming aware of previously "invisible" everyday activities and in assessing their own values. Students began to develop vital observation and interviewing skills. Technique facilitated integration of…

Examines public speaking (PS) practices within the Osage Nation. Settings for formal occasions of PS and PS within the context of speech act, event, and situation are addressed. Methodological-biographical notes on Pratt as informant, ethnographer, and author and a discussion of learning and speaking among the Osage are appended. (Contains 49…

Annual summative evaluation rarely brings about professional growth or change; ongoing formative evaluation that allows for corrections and encourages development of new skills and talents is more effective. Data alone are not enough. Principals' needs must be linked to the resources of people, materials, funds, and enriched staff development…

The supposition that observational skills can be influenced by students' belief in traditional African cosmology, beliefs, and superstitions was investigated. Students with a high level of belief in African traditional cosmology made fewer correct observations on the Traditional Cosmology Test (TCT) and the Test of Observational Skills (TOS) as…

Ethnographic interviews help researchers avoid assumptions, collect descriptive data, and use language originating with respondents. The rich insights such interviews provide into attitudes, values, and behavior can be useful for survey design and measurement decisions. (SK)

Suggests that the practice of ethnography in the spirit of Clifford Geertz's "thick description," and the thinking that this practice demands, can give college students both a tool for inquiry and a sense of their positions as authorities in the writing process. Defines thick description and discusses how ethnography works in a…

Summarizes issues emerging from an institute on strategies and techniques for evaluating children's services in public libraries, including observation as a research method, the importance of statistics on children's services, and the adaptation of traditional evaluation strategies for children's services. (Seven references) (MES)

A comprehensive written documentation system for teacher evaluation usually includes classroom observations, assessment documents, principal's log, specific incident reports, and summary memoranda. Principals should be specific, involve others, be timely, treat all employees alike, state facts and conclusions, and use negative language where…

Proposes "analytical observation" as a method of training evaluation for health-care providers. The method, which utilizes observation charts, has been validated through a study that examined the impact of supervision of health-care providers in the domain of therapeutic education of patients. Results show that this method has a definite impact on…

Describes the ways in which one group of Head Start children included narrative features in their naturally occurring dramatic play and engaged in behaviors similar to process writing. Extends information about narrative features by describing play behaviors similar to mapping and revision. Presents findings that are part of a larger…

Systematic naturalistic observations of imitation, theory of mind, play, and social contact were conducted with children with autism, adults with autism, children with learning disabilities, and normally developing young children. Although little imitation was observed in any but the normal young children, the autistic subjects showed less…

Research assessed 44 students' levels of self-esteem and then measured their actual levels of intoxication with a breathalyzer as they were leaving a fraternity party. Participants with lower levels of self-esteem exited the party with a mean Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .126, while those with higher levels of self-esteem exited with a…

Uses the Tobacco Hornworm to teach about the competition for limited resources and behavioral changes. Follows three stages during the experiment: (1) brainstorming and hypothesis building; (2) implementation; and (3) data reduction and presentation. (YDS)

Describes a teacher's creative teaching method in an art class. Introduces a summer workshop called the Artist's Workshop for teachers who are interested in infusing art into their classroom. Claims that teachers must push their own boundaries to find out their strategies and to listen to students. Provides 25 strategies to bring art into…