The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which inter-rater agreement in classroom observation of teachers is affected by using a system where each scale point is defined by a descriptor particularly created for the quality being rated. Thirty-three subjects enrolled in two Teacher Performance Assessment Instruments training…

This study focuses on standardized test administration in five elementary schools. The authors discuss how teachers affect test validity by altering standard test procedures in both planned and incidental ways. Each of the 16 voluntary teachers who participated in this study was observed in her/his classroom administering certain subtests of the…

Comparisons were made of qualitative and quantitative information collected in nine second grade reading classes in a study that examined the respective strengths and weaknesses of using such information to evaluate teacher behavior. Data that were collected included trained ethnographers' narrative observations of teacher behavior (the…

The study involving 105 learning disabled students (6 to 12 years old) investigated the effects of the sex and race of students to determine if these factors were salient to initial placement in elementary learning disabilities classrooms, to the amount or type of instruction received in reading, to the learning behaviors students exhibit in…

Brinkmanship behaviors are challenges to authority expressed in such a mannner that expected negative sanctions are typically avoided. They are usually extemporaneous, involve satire or sarcasm, and take place in front of an audience. This study investigated 43 principals' and 137 teachers' perceptions of teacher brinkmanship behaviors and sought…

The ratings given by supervising teachers to student teachers over a two-year period were studied with the aim of determining a consensus on evaluating the student teaching experience. The following nine performance variables were selected as important to successful teaching: (1) enthusiasm; (2) English usage; (3) poise; (4) classroom control; (5)…

This publication is a collection of commentaries on a published monograph entitled "Teacher Competence and Teacher Effectiveness: A Review of Process-Product Research" by Donald M. Medley (1977). Medley's stated purpose was to provide teacher educators with access to the meaningful findings of research in teacher effectiveness. The papers here…

The ruling model of the college teacher of composition has been the "composition instructor," who like the military drill instructor is unflinching, authoritarian, and dedicated to turning students into disciplined writers of standard English by means of drills and criticism. The military pose is inherent in the call for a return to…

An instrument is presented for recording and analyzing student and teacher behavior in laboratory or activity-centered vocational education classrooms. The instrument uses categories of behavior, such as: (1) asks extended thought questions, (2) shows or illustrates, and (3) management of lesson, for teachers; and categories such as: (1) asks…

Two models for research on teacher thinking are discussed: the decision-making model and the information-processing model. Research on teaching guided by the decision-making model focuses upon explaining and understanding deliberate teacher activity and is deemed more appropriate for situations in which the teacher has sufficient time and…

The use of an established research method, Research on Teacher Effectiveness (RTE), is considered as it may be applied to examine successful teaching methods in physical activities and sports. The basic process of RTE is observing teachers at work with students in the classroom or gymnasium. Research on the relationship between teaching behaviors…

The possibility that "coder drift" may be a source of bias in classroom observation systems was investigated in two parallel experiments using the Flanders System of Interaction Analysis. Coder drift may be described as the differences in coding which result when observers create their own idiosyncratic systems of classifying teacher…

Reported is a study to identify specific science teacher types among elementary preservice and inservice teachers. The results state that similar science teacher types were identified in both samples and the types were found to correspond closely with types previously identified for junior and senior high school science teachers. (SA)

Multiple effects of an increased rate of teacher questions on the verbal behavior of three institutionalized severely retarded children were investigated. Teachers were observed in training situations with the Ss and were then instructed to increase the number of questions requiring answers other than "yes" or "no." Results showed that the…

A report is made of a study to analyze the effects of a human relations component in an introduction to education course on the self concept and interpersonal relations of secondary preservice teachers. Forty-four preservice teachers were divided into experimental and control groups with the experimental group receiving 14 weeks of validated human…