Three approaches for providing feedback for improving the classroom instruction of preservice teachers are feedback from pupils, systematic feedback from classroom observation, and self-analysis of classroom lessons. These approaches provide student teachers, cooperating teachers and supervisors with data for improving the preservice teaching…

The case study of a young male adult with moderate to severe handicapping conditions used naturalistic inquiry procedures including interviews and observations of home, community, and employment settings. Decisions had been influenced by personal and cultural values of the participants and reflected a lack of informed choices, miscommunication,…

This discussion of naturalistic interventions with young children experiencing learning and behavioral problems notes their bases in studies of competent caregivers and focuses on intervention in the child's usual environments, provision of experiences targeting functional behaviors, and caregiver skills that facilitate learning and behavior…

Discusses the use of 39 new fiction and nonfiction travel-related titles to enable children to practice thinking skills in a nonthreatening environment. Examples for teaching inference, observation, prediction, comparison, and contrast are provided. Examples can be used as entry points for booktalks or introductions to other kinds of programs.…

Conducted classroom observations to determine students' understanding of the nature of science and the intentionality of experiments. Topics discussed include: does science seek to explain, using models, proving that the theoretical explanation is correct, and discussions of different interpretations. Concludes that most students in the 14-16 age…

Analysis of 7 classrooms for children (ages 3-17) with developmental disabilities and a day-care center with nondisabled preschoolers revealed that less than 14% of the 6,000 observation intervals contained an opportunity for communication. Most opportunities involved naming an object or event, followed in frequency by opportunities to request,…

This article addresses the adequacy of instruments for assessing family functioning and the process for introducing family assessment into early intervention services. Use of the Parent/Caregiver Involvement Scale illustrates how observation can be used to assess dyadic family interactions and can be interpreted to tailor intervention to…

Describes a study that investigated issues related to timing of feedback in writing instruction and explores answers to the following: (1) What would English-as-a-Second-Language learners like to have emphasized in feedback and when? (2) While revising, do learners respond to feedback on both content and language use? and (3) What are the…

Observational studies of student learning from classroom experience in science and social studies in elementary and middle school classrooms were carried out with 14 students. A model is described that explains how students use multilayered episodic and semantic memory for learning experience and related knowledge to answer achievement test items.…

This overview of recent developments in redefining attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder summarizes articles about assessment instruments and procedures and identifies important issues, including the construct of hyperactivity as it relates to attention, classification systems, and the lack of technical adequacy of many assessment instruments…

Investigated the problems chemistry majors have with learning distillation concepts in traditional chemistry laboratory courses. Reports that students take the generalized concepts at face value, construct decontextualized concepts for distillation, and cannot interpret their observations or make reasoned decisions based on the theoretical…

Discusses the advantages of the clinical supervision of teachers, emphasizing the role of the principal in the observation itself. The advantages to both teacher and students of acknowledging the principal's presence and including him/her in the lesson are indicated. (SM)

Five major steps are involved in evaluating school reading programs: clarifying evaluators' role, data collection, data analysis, data reporting, and followup. This article explains these steps and presents a checklist for guiding the measurement of motivation, clarification, application, and satisfaction components. (MLH)

Discusses the work of Susan Isaacs on assessing and recording the progress of infant school children in Britain between 1934 and 1936. Compares Isaacs' approach to that advocated in a 1992 book on assessment in early childhood education edited by Blenkin and Kelly. Concludes that Isaacs' work still has a contribution to make to educational…

Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) is an integrated set of measures for the assessment and identification of school-age children with emotional disturbances and behavioral disorders. This review summarizes the technical qualities of the BASC and critiques its usefulness for practicing school psychologists. Concludes BASC a desirable…