Behavioral measures indicated that nonparticipant observation increased the frequency, but not the appropriateness, of teacher-pupil interactions and did not affect the appropriateness of student behaviors. (Author)

The school principal must secure maximum performance from teachers to achieve the goals set forth by the district superintendent and the school board. To accomplish this, the principals' authority must be accepted by the faculty. The extent of faculty members' response to orders or directives issued by authority figures is determined by each…

New research programs on teaching have examined teacher thinking, reflective teaching, and the possibility of teachers using practical arguments in their teaching. The changes in educational research have their basis in social science conceptions of research, which have shifted through the years. The shift from logical positivism to a more…

This paper presents the justification for evaluative and instrumentation research into teacher effectiveness in the Third World in general and reports an attempt, within an instrumentation research, to evolve an operational definition of the concept such as would facilitate its assessment within the Nigerian cultural context in particular. To this…

The importance of laughter and humor to enhance education, and special education in particular, is addressed. A sense of humor is an attitude, and humor together with enthusiasm helps students enjoy the learning process. Humor can make students become more alert, and can have very positive influences on affect. A funny remark, a pleasant…

This study investigated the relationship between preschool children's participation in play activities structured by adults and the level of motor activity children exhibited while in those activities, to test the hypothesis that children's motor activity levels vary according to the level of structure imposed on activities by adults. Subjects…

Despite a wealth of research literature showing the importance of teacher empowerment and autonomy, and a multitude of plans and models for bringing teachers to the decision-making table, teachers remain encapsulated in their classrooms. In spite of career ladders, career lattices, merit pay, and mentorships, teachers have been unable to take…

This paper introduces four categories of knowledge: "the folkways of teaching,""local mores,""private views," and "teaching expertise." The folkways of teaching describe "teaching as usual," learned and practiced in the half-conscious way in which people go about their everyday lives. Local mores…

This research tested the validity of the prevalent assumption that a teacher's conception of the nature of science influences his/her classroom behavior. The subjects consisted of 18 senior high school biology teachers and one randomly selected tenth-grade biology class of each teacher. Each class (mean size of 22.72 students) was heterogeneous…

An ethnographic study was conducted in an elementary school in order to understand the relationship between teacher behavior and the environments of classes identified by teachers as their "worst." First, research on teacher behaviors was reviewed to identify a set of factors identifiable with effective and ineffective teaching. Ten dimensions of…

A framework for thinking about teacher assessment is provided. Good teaching is characterized and target domains for teacher assessment are identified. A number of challenges to existing assessment practices and plans for future assessment practices are identified. New systems of teacher assessment should be designed to triangulate across domains…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was any relationship between an individual teacher's preferred learning style and the amount of exhibited total stress. It also sought to determine if there was any specific area of stress which related to learning style. This was basically a replication of a study done in 1988 using a different…

Of the nine long range goals of adapted physical education, creative thinking and moving has received the least attention. However, this goal may be more important than others in helping handicapped children self-actualize through sports, dance, and aquatics. This paper defines behaviors in the creative process and describes several assessment…

Students must learn to respond to the task demands imposed by their teachers, and their ability to do so is influenced by certain task related beliefs. The study described the nature of classroom task environments and their relationship to students' task-related beliefs. Students in 19 third- and fourth-grade classrooms completed questionnaires…

Teachers participating in an experiment were asked to teach their control sections of junior high social studies classes as they had been planning to teach them anyway, but to adjust or enhance these plans so as to teach their experimental sections in ways that incorporated one or more of 24 motivational strategies featured in a training workshop.…