Presents activities focusing on the use of visual perspectivity. Includes reproducible student worksheets. (MKR)

Discusses a study of how music education majors and nonmusic education majors evaluated a fifth grade music teacher. Reports that nonmusic majors gave significantly higher ratings than majors for three of four teacher characteristics analyzed. Recommends research to determine variables that affect observation and evaluation processes related to…

Home observations of parent-child interactions in 40 families with young children were conducted over 27 months. Ten parent measures showed stability across time but differences across families. The amount of parenting per hour, and the quality of the verbal content of parents' speech, were related to family SES and child IQ. (BC)

Reports on observations of two middle school achievers and two low achievers during the research process to discover why high achievers utilize the teacher librarian more often. Discusses the findings that students' self-confidence plays a role and that observation and interaction with students have value in the teaching process. (two references)…

An eco-behavioral observation system was developed for use with students with behavior disorders or emotional disturbances. Discussed are the ecosystem definition, the student-instructional setting interface, and the assessment procedure, including evaluation of the quality of academic responding, program evaluation, staff development, and…

Describes briefly four qualitative research projects and examines four sets of questions which illustrate ethical dilemmas embedded in qualitative research of the type described: the conduct of qualitative inquiry in the classroom, project implementation, the effect of the researcher's presence in the field, and understanding questions of pedagogy…

Results indicated significantly more stress behaviors in children in developmentally inappropriate classes than in children in appropriate classes. Stress behaviors differed according to activity. Males exhibited slightly more stress behavior than females. (BC)

Conducts an ethnographic study, collecting life stories from people with mental retardation living at London's L' Arche community (a center of group homes with disabled and nondisabled residents). Uses Robert Cole's methodology of interpretive narrative, and explains the procedure. Argues that these life stories provide insight that can help…

A device for organizing practitioners' observations, the Maternal Characteristics Scale is used here to identify traits that distinguish samples of Caucasian neglectful mothers from those who are not neglectful. This replication of the scale supported earlier findings that relatedness, impulse control, confidence, and verbal accessibility were…

Discusses a study of the sociomoral atmosphere of three kindergarten classrooms and the sociomoral development of students. Reports that children were observed interacting as they played a board game. Concludes that the higher the level of interpersonal understanding enacted by the teacher, the higher the level enacted by children. (SG)

Gives detailed suggestions for adult educators on course and session evaluation, analysis of attendance and dropout, self-evaluation, and student assessment. (SK)

Principals can become more effective supervisors of early childhood programs by understanding how these programs differ from those for upper elementary grades. There are at least seven critical differences involving classroom environment, teacher-student interactions, curriculum, integrated learning, class scheduling, playful learning, and…

The Ecobehavioral Assessment Systems Software (EBASS) is a computer-assisted student observational system which contains three instruments widely used in special education research. This article describes the background, instruments, supporting technology, validation research, and barriers to the use of computer-assisted observational assessment.…

A 3-year pilot study of alternative assessments for over 500 beginning teachers revealed numerous possibilities, including high-inference classroom observations, semistructured interviews, structured simulation tasks, performance-based assessment center exercises, portfolios, videotaped teaching episodes, and revamped multiple-choice examinations.…

This study evaluated the impact of a pilot training package designed to teach six mothers observation and recording skills regarding their children's behaviors. Preliminary data, gathered in an analogue setting, provide modest support for the package's effectiveness, based on improvements in levels of agreement with the professional's data…