Perhaps more than ever before, college teaching is being studied and evaluated. This paper describes the development of a simple descriptive instrument used to focus observers' classifications and ratings of college teachers' instructional behaviors as recorded on video tape. The need for such an instrument is reviewed, the methodology for testing…

In attempting to define the "ecology" of human development, the term's history and connotations are discussed. The ecological approach requires that the person, the environment, and the relations between them be conceptualized in terms of systems, and subsystems within systems. The experimental situation is not limited to being…

This study tests the proposition that selective behaviors of both mother and infant during feeding are predictors of weight gain during the first month of life. Forty normal mother-neonate pairs were studied, and the target behaviors were examined using an adaptation of the techniques developed by Brown and Bakeman (in which approximately 60…

The development of a category scheme for the systematic analysis of science classroom discourse is described. Three teaching models are discussed: the Impression Model, which depicts the mind of a student as receiving and storing external impressions; the Insight Model, which denies the possibility that ideas or knowledge can be conveyed by…

At Baruch College of the City University of New York, a study was begun using nontraditional, small group classroom techniques to determine if students' achievement in an intermediate accountancy course could be influenced. Quiz and examination results showed no significant difference between the traditional and nontraditional classes. (JMD)

The focus here is on category observation instruments which typically record classroom behaviors in the form of tallies, checks, or other marks which code them into predefined categories and yield information about which behaviors occurred and how often they occurred during the period of observation. Discusses the essential properties of the…

Twenty-one variables from the Texas Teacher Effectiveness Project Coding System were factor analyzed for morning whole class data, afternoon whole class data, and reading group data. Resulting factor scores were correlated with achievement gains. Although significant correlations were few, differences existed between lower and higher social status…

Using five readily available classroom observation systems, three 50-minute videotapes of classroom interaction were rated for each of twelve social studies teachers. Comparisons yielded 23 categories that measured similar behaviors across systems, approximately half of which satisfied all validity tests. Implications for process-product studies…

This paper describes two experiments conducted to assess the impact of the need for effective control on attributions made in a conflict situation. Subjects were college students. (CM)

A way to enlarge the projected image of solar eclipse onto a viewing surface is presented. (MR)

Spatial distribution of activity in a second-third grade open classroom was observed before and after a change in the physical design, to test the hypothesis that minor changes in the physical setting would produce predictable, desirable changes in student behavior. In most cases the desired behavior changes were produced. (Author/MV)

Interest in babies was assessed for 32 children aged 8 to 9 years and 32 children aged 14 to 15 years. Data were collected by means of a 6-second time sampling of waiting room behaviors in the presence of a live baby and by reactions to pictures of babies versus other objects. (Author/JMB)

Two questions regarding supervision of student teachers are addressed here: who should supervise, and how can it be done most skillfully? Cooperating teachers might best be trained to supervise. Supervision techniques might include analyzing classroom events and the student teachers' anxieties and needs. A supervision model is developed. (CHK)

Rep. Pat Williams, the new chairman of the House Postsecondary Education Subcommittee, visits college campuses and observes what the problems are. A recent visit to Pennsylvania State is described in which he listened to students in the financial aid office, inspected research facilities, and talked with university administrators. (MLW)

Material comprising teachers' questions and pupils' responses was collected during ordinary lessons in order to gain an understanding of the linguistic interaction during lessons in the mother tongue. (Author/LMO)