Community colleges need to evaluate, free from prejudice, the nature and impact of their whole system. Lack of effective programs for minority students is one of many discrepancies between objectives held and those actually implemented. The goals of a successful evaluation are to measure and identify a combination of input and process factors that…

A comprehensive plan for the evaluation of new curriculums and instructional procedures stresses the observation of activities in which pupils are engaged while the instructional program is in operation. Through the Individually Prescribed Instruction Project conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, it was found that all observable pupil…

The purpose of this document is to describe two process-oriented classroom observation scales and to report a research study which offers further support for the validity of these instruments. The two observation scales, developed by Harvey, et al., are (1) Teaching Rating Scale, devised specifically as a measure of classroom atmosphere, and (2)…

For evaluation and further development of the First-Year Communication Skills Program, a classroom observational study was conducted to determine the extent to which teachers demonstrated the desired instructional behaviors and to measure pupil response rate. A sample of 10 classes was selected for observation by two observers during a regularly…

This paper examines current forms and instruments of classroom observation and suggests directions for future research studies. The following topics are covered: the need for good criterion measures, the use of observational instruments in outcome measures, the development of procedures to code the content that is covered in a classroom, the…

Reported is an observational analysis process termed "macroanalysis" which involves the analysis of interactive dialogue in chains or sequences of coded behavior rather than in terms of conventional matrices and ratios. All existing 3-, 4-, and 5-tally chains are extracted directly from an observer's coded tallies. This paper includes a…

Two modes of evaluation are compared: the summary evaluation by supervisors performed at six-month intervals, and the technique of direct observation of a clinical encounter through one-way glass. The sample consists of 17 residents in pediatrics who were evaluated, using both methods, over an eight-month interval. The analysis of data indicates…

This monograph presents a completely theoretical analysis of data pertaining to professional laboratory experiences at the preservice level. The intention is to bring together in a useful pattern what is known and what is asserted about these experiences and to make specific functional proposals that, if implemented, may be conducive to enhancing…

The play patterns and stimulus preference of 20 preschool children were observed during low and high stress conditions. The stress manipulation was contingent upon the child's preparation for a medical appointment. Heart rate recordings were used as an index of stress. Children manifested a preference toward creative-constructive play under…

This document presents case studies of children from five preschools of Head Start's Planned Variation Program. The case studies are designed to reflect the meaning of the preschool experience for each individual child, with emphasis on changes in self concept, concepts of the world, interpersonal interactions, and task-oriented behavior. Children…

This paper assesses teacher evaluation policies and practices operant in First Class School Districts in the state of Washington. The data, submitted from mailed questionnaires, deal with a district's assessment policy and specifically include concerns relating to evaluative personnel, procedures, and an evaluative instrument or model.…

A limited set of behaviors of three-, four-, and five-year-old children were observed in a day-care program designed to permit the children a maximum of freedom for environmental encounters. The sample consists of 20 children with day-care experience dating back to infancy and a group of 20 children (a contrast group) without prior day-care…

Although any definition of the educational philosophy of informal education is sure to be incomplete, for the purposes of this paper the following characteristics will be sufficient: a) informal British schools are "de-institutionalized"; b) they stress individualization; c) detailed observation of a child's work over a long period of time is the…

The author reports research documenting the tendency for actors to attribute their own behavior to external causes while observers attributed the same behaviors to the internal disposition of the actor. Psychologists, like other observers of behavior, may have a bias toward attributing an actor's behavior to internal causes, and their inferences…

Following a review of research on the effects of early experience upon subsequent cognitive and intellectual development, an alternative Piagetian-based strategy for the study and evaluation of these concerns is presented. Using this paradigm, infants were observed naturalistically for one year. The observations were coded according to the four…