This article summarizes literature that examines the use and effect of teacher praise on academic and behavioral outcomes of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Methods for monitoring and increasing teachers' use of effective praise are provided and include peer coaching, structured observation, training, and self-evaluation.…

Describes the author's experiences straddling a Chinese home culture and an American school culture throughout most of her life. Ponders how to, as a future teacher, support the experiences of individual students, be aware of cultural assumptions, and reward students for what they already know. (SR)

Interviews with 30 students aged 17-19 in health care, business, and engineering showed that primary constructs they used to evaluate teachers were related to the quality of interpersonal communication, results confirmed by comparison with larger-scale studies. Despite the finding, affective behavior is not usually the focus of teacher education.…

Addresses the issue of teacher purpose in using technology for reading and literacy instruction. Notes that computers were used mostly for motivation and self-esteem and not for raising achievement. Argues that educators need to critically think through the multiple realities they face as they consider the use of technology with disabled readers.…

Examines effects of teacher behaviors and classroom organization on 2,128 pupils' progress in mathematics in UK primary schools participating in a math intervention program. Using multilevel modeling techniques, finds that teacher behaviors could explain between 60 and 70 percent of pupils' progress on numeracy tests. (Contains 35 references.)…

Offers observational tools that physical education teachers can use to gather objective data on their teaching for the purpose of reflection. The tools are based on complex research tools associated with effective teaching. The three types of observational tools focus on student behaviors, teacher behaviors, and teacher-student interactions. (SM)

Identifies the source of new teacher difficulties in maintaining order and discipline and inspiring students to cooperate and learn. Describes a seminar that helps preservice teachers determine how they want to "be" in the classroom and how they will strategically deal with unruly students. (TB)

Describes a process for assessing children's reading that involves observations, interpretations, forming hypotheses, making curricular decisions, and going through the process again. Describes how this process, called "Hypothesis Test," has proved useful to a number of teachers with whom the author has worked. (SR)

Discusses how to support teachers through the challenges of full implementation of holistic instruction in the classroom. Examines the effectiveness of the Kamehameha Elementary Education Program in Hawaii. Finds that holistic instruction can be effective in improving the literacy achievement of students of diverse cultural and linguistic…

Investigates whether the rhetoric of uninterrupted, sustained, silent reading was evident in primary classrooms (in England) where the practice was professed to operate. Finds that, while the value of a quiet reading time was generally acknowledged, many models operated under the guise of "uninterrupted sustained silent reading," models…

Using qualitative information (faculty meeting transcripts) and a survey, researchers showed that seven statements pertaining to parent-teacher communication at a large rural middle school were poorly rated. A subsequent survey showed improved teacher attitudes, thanks to a monthly newspaper, parent hotline, web page, and other changes. (Contains…

An education professor explains how she uses her own lesson plans for a course in middle-grade methods to demonstrate lesson planning for students. She uses an entrance table with handouts to illustrate time-saving classroom techniques. Seeing and experiencing generally beats telling. (MLH)

Identifies five dimensions of professional instructional competencies based on qualitative empirical studies (participant observation, interviews, and data analysis). Discusses the concept of a "professional self" in order to explain professional development. Emphasizes self-reflection and observation as the means for professional educators to…

Presents the results of an evaluation study analyzing the application of peer group supervision at seven German primary schools. Investigates whether participation in school-specific groups that had been introduced in the method of peer group supervision leads to changes in teachers' consulting behaviors. (CMK)

Explains a Martin-Luther-University at Halle research project that aims to learn about the effects of restructuring and transformation following the political change in the new Bundeslaender on the professional and biographically determined convictions and structures of pedagogical practice of male and female teachers in Sachsen-Anhalt (Germany).…