This study analyzed children's comprehension of teacher directives at three levels of clarity. A total of 64 subjects, ages 5 1/2, 7 1/2, 9 1/2 and 11 1/2, participated. Photographic slides of teacher-pupil directive interactions paired with tape recorded teacher directives were presented to subjects under one of four levels of verbal context:…

Two competing paradigms seem to characterize all models of teaching behavior. The first may be labeled as behavior-analytic, detail specific, and structured in that the learner proceeds through prescribed steps toward each goal. The other may be described as inquiry-oriented and learner-centered in that the learner has greater choice of the means…

Data were obtained from 311 teachers in order to sample a wide domain of attitudes toward writing instruction and writing anxiety. The subjects' responses were organized along four attitudinal dimensions: (1) the importance of standard English in writing instruction (SE), (2) the importance of defining and evaluating writing tasks (DE), (3) the…

The acquisition of new teaching behaviors requires a personal commitment based on freely choosing to attend to, practice, and finally integrate newly acquired behaviors into an already established teaching philosophy. Significant attitude or behavior change can be accomplished through a five step development process that focuses on awareness,…

This report contains an analysis of the mechanisms that connect teaching processes to student achievement and the circumstances contributing to the establishment of treatment conditions in classrooms. The first section is focused on the way in which academic tasks operating in a classroom influence the quality of student learning. The second…

Classroom behavior of student teachers who had training in discussion techniques and in interaction analysis was observed and compared to the behavior of their cooperating teachers. A significant difference in types of communication patterns in the classroom of student teachers who had this special training and those who had not was observed. It…

The theory that teachers treat students from whom they expect superior achievement differently than those from whom they expect inferior performance is examined. Five ways of reacting on the part of the teacher are identified for the purpose of this study--teacher warmth, teacher feedback, teacher selection of materials, opportunity offered for…

The author argues here that progress toward greater validity in description through increasingly specifiable standards for quality control is crucial for the advancement of theory as well as for the improvement of method in descriptive studies of classroom life. Some standards for judging the validity of descriptions of classroom action are…

This five-year study gathered data on 174 prospective teachers through personality tests, self-evaluation forms, and sound films of student teaching behavior, and examined the effects of three kinds of psychological feedback on teacher preparation, personality, and behavior. Subjects were divided into four groups--one for control and three for…

A test of competencies involved in "Science - A Process Approach" that appeared to measure the same behavior required by the American Assoc"ation for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) appraisal activities was constructed and formed the preliminary version of the Elementary Teachers' Science Inventory (ETSI). A criterion instrument…

Logical analysis of the purpose of teaching--to bring about appropriate changes in learners--should result in identification of the elements of teaching behavior which effects appropriate changes. These elements are the logical objectives for a program of teacher education and the criteria for assessing teacher effectiveness. By successively…

The focus of this paper is on the complex interaction between teacher behavior and learner outcomes and the search for associational and causal relationships between them. Both the results from research conducted in this area and the methodology used to conduct the studies are examined. Answers to the following questions are reported. What links…

Methods by which preservice physical education teachers use selected behaviors to promote handicapped student physical performance in planned skill activities are explored. The basic assumption investigated is that teacher behaviors when working with any child in physical education will have basic similarities. Discussion focuses on processes used…

Research on teaching, encompassing those judgments and actions of teaching that can affect the curriculum and instruction that learners encounter in school, is a necessity if public school personnel are to cope with the increased social pressures on the schools. Early empirical research in the field focused on teachers or learning, rather than on…

This paper examines the process by which teachers adapt their teaching behavior to their students, including (1) how adaptation is manifested spontaneously through implicit matching of students and teaching styles, (2) how implicit matching can be analyzed, (3) how models for matching teachers' approaches to different students can be described,…