Examined teacher risk taking during the development of a school-within-a-school program in a Professional Development School, targeting sophomores at high risk for dropping out. Findings indicated that a psychology of risk-taking behavior provided a useful lens for understanding teacher risk-taking in this context and that the three essential…

Compares Native American and Caucasian students' perceptions of teacher good will and delivery communication competence as well as attitude toward school. Finds that Native American students perceived teachers to have less good will and delivery competence and had more negative attitudes toward school compared to Caucasian students. (SR)

Reports a study that examined secondary physical education teacher and student behavior, comparing more- and less- effective teachers. Videotapes of teachers teaching a new gymnastic skill indicated that more-effective teachers had more active learning time and less instruction time, and they spent significantly more time observing students.…

A survey of 39 business faculty at one university investigated perceptions of their role as lecturer and the purpose of lectures, tutorials, and assessment. Most saw their role as imparting knowledge, supporting students, motivating students, facilitating learning, or some combination, but their expressed attitudes and beliefs about teaching were…

The major characteristics of expert physical education teachers include thorough planning, focus on individual student performance, heightened perceptual abilities, automaticity of behavior, creative feedback responses, command of subject matter, and use of reflective practices. Suggestions for developing teaching expertise in all of the areas are…

This study explored relative contributions of variables underlying 30 elementary teachers' referral judgments. Best predictors of referral were teachers' judgments about presence of behavioral problems and students' academic competence, while demography, off-task behavior, and teachers' stress failed to contribute significantly. (Contains…

Results are reported from a study which examined the two-year residual effects of the Stallings Effective Use of Time (EUOT) Program, an in-service program designed to produce significant changes in teachers' in-class behavior patterns. Ten teachers were observed again and interviewed to determine the extent to which they had maintained the…

Shares 16 insights about reading instruction which two professors gained from first-grade students when they left the university setting and returned to teach in public schools. (MG)

Measures preferences students express for communicator styles of their instructors. Finds the most preferred styles were friendly and attentive, followed by relaxed, impression leaving, animated, dramatic, open, precise, dominant, and contentious. Finds that other variables such as IQ, demographics, and students' learning style preference were…

Results are reported from a study which sought to examine (1) potential gender bias between male and female physical education teachers (N=6) and school level, (2) the extent to which a teacher might be gender typed, and (3) the extent to which students (N=164) perceived differences in teacher treatment. (IAH)

The study assessed eight junior high teachers' thoughts about at-risk students during instruction and assessed students' perceptions and comprehension of instruction. Results suggest that the teachers more frequently monitored and attempted to motivate the 10 at-risk students. Subjects were aware of their class difficulties but less aware of…

Describes class discussions in an undergraduate English fiction class. Draws a parallel between students' reactions to reading material and the instructor's own responses to fiction as an undergraduate. Suggests that a literature teacher can depart from the usual role of telling students how they must read a given story. (SG)

Maintains that it is critical that caregivers and teachers learn to use Southeast Asian children's and parents' names properly. Discusses the structure and use of names among four Southeast Asian subgroups: Vietnamese, Cambodians, Laotians, and Hmongs. Teaching suggestions are offered. (BB)

Observations of an elementary teacher's behavior determined that her teaching behavior remained stable and did not vary in relation to the content of the lessons. The teacher's pre-instructional decision concerning the grouping of pupils appeared to influence her interaction processes. (JD)

Behavior profiles of four experienced teachers of infants and toddlers were obtained by means of the Assessing the Behavior of Caregivers (ABC) checklist. The ABC was shown to be a sensitive and easy-to-use instrument that was useful in monitoring interactions between adults and children and effects of in-service training. (DE)