The effects of child gender and teacher experience on the intrusions of teachers into young children's play were studied. A classroom of 15 children (mean age 34 months), which was supervised by a lead teacher, graduate assistants, and undergraduate student teachers, was observed. Teacher intrusions into the children's play were coded as requests,…

This paper examines the historical roots of critical realism in western thought, highlights the dramatic nature of the shift in thought that the radical constructivists are seeking, and critically considers the relevance of radical constructivism in science teacher education. Radical constructivism is an epistemological philosophy that divorces…

This monograph surveys the literature and provides a broad understanding of the concept of mentoring and of the application of mentoring to teaching. A synthesis is presented of the research on mentoring, including an explication of the origin, value, and essence of the mentoring concept; the rationale for mentoring beginning teachers; and…

Six fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms of children were involved in three studies undertaken to measure the effectiveness of four sets of teaching behaviors on short-term student achievement gains. The following behaviors were considered: (1) sharing instructional objectives with students; (2) providing feedback emphasizing students' abilities;…

The final phase of a study investigating effective teaching behaviors for mainstreamed students involved 118 elementary teachers. Teachers provided information on mainstreamed students and a sample of students was randomly selected to represent classification categories (learning disabilities, behavior disorders, speech impairments, and hearing…

This study examined the effects of high, mixed, and low rates of specified sequenced teacher behaviors (specific observation followed by reinforcement) engaged in by elementary school teachers on the academic learning time-physical education (ALT-PE) of students. The high rate was defined as teacher engagement in five per minute or more episodes…

One aspect of teacher behavior in which teachers appear as brokers of policies, changing and modifying their behavior to meet multiple expectations, is reported in this study. Nine elementary school teachers were observed at work in an attempt to relate what they did to the web of educational policy surrounding them. The purpose was to gain a…

A two-part questionnaire concerning ethical behavior was prepared and distributed to 300 public school teachers and 75 administrators in the middle geographic region of Tennessee. Part I of the questionnaire asked respondents to position 18 different behaviors on a five-point scale from "ethical" to "very unethical." Part II…

This volume contains an annotated bibliography of journal articles, books, documents (including some ERIC citations) and audiovisual materials on behaviors of teachers which research has shown to be consistently associated with academic learning by pupils. The citations are organized according to four topics: (1) planning for an evaluation of…

Teaching practices that have been correlated by research with positive student achievement are grouped under five major teaching functions in the Teacher Performance Appraisal Instrument (TPAI). These include: (1) management of instructional time; (2) management of student behavior; (3) instructional presentation; (4) instructional monitoring of…

This essay looks at ways in which humor can be used to teach library skills in academic libraries. It discusses both the motivational and pedagogical value of humor as it is discussed in educational literature. Many examples are used to illustrate ways in which these principles can be applied in the library setting, and suggestions for effective…

A pilot study investigated the conceptual level of hearing-impaired preservice teachers as they experienced practicum work with hearing pupils. Eight hearing-impaired student teachers from the Gallaudet College undergraduate teacher education program were videotaped on two different occasions as they taught hearing pupils in public schools during…

This document is a transcript of the videotape commentaries accompanying Chapters 1 to 5 in "Evaluating and Improving Teaching Performance: Inservice Kit." With the exception of material from chapter 1, the commentary is delimited to teaching effectiveness. Hence, the content lends itself to a program that focuses on the development of knowledge…

This paper presents a rationale for using a biographical approach in understanding how teachers think and act and how they have come to think and act in the way they do. This approach is seen as being able to provide a fundamental understanding of the teacher's perspective. Understanding how teachers individually and collectively think, act,…

It is proposed in this paper that the goals of teacher education programs should include not only the acquistion of knowledge and skills, but also a class of outcomes called "dispositions." A disposition is defined as an attribution which summarizes the trend of a teacher's actions across similar contexts. The construct is descriptive and…