Emergent and beginning readers demonstrate many predictable behaviors in the kindergarten classroom, yet every child is making sense out of print in his or her own way. The job of the kindergarten teacher is to help each child to continue developing as a reader and writer. Reading and writing materials are accessible and usable throughout a…

A study compared the teaching of composition in secondary British and American schools in the areas of English, social studies, and science. Surveys were returned by 223 teachers in the southeastern Alabama area (out of 310 surveys sent) and by 48 teachers in Suffolk County, England (out of 87 surveys requested). Low response from teachers in…

A study reexamined data from an earlier study of the effect of teacher questioning techniques on students' understanding of and responses to literature. Data were reexamined for instructional correlates of difficulty of recall and difficulty of depth of understanding. Subjects, 1,041 students in 58 eight-grade English classes in 16 midwestern…

This annotated bibliography describes research on the characteristics of apprehensive writers and on methodology which has been found useful in reducing anxiety and increasing writing achievement. Following an introduction, 27 annotations (dating from 1976 to 1990) are presented. A summary, conclusions, and recommendations follow. A 33-item…

Year-long observations of 51 teachers in 11 junior high schools resulted in identification of 2 groups of teachers who were rated as either more or less effective in classroom management during the year. Subsequently, these groups were observed and comparisons were made of their behaviors and activities during the first three weeks of school.…

To provide a Louisiana State reading improvement program with information that could improve instructional efficiency, a study was conducted to determine the relationship between student time on task and eight broad categories of classroom activities used by teachers during reading and language arts instruction. The eight activities studied were…

Since the late 1960's, researchers have been concerned with the influence of teacher expectations on student performance. Teacher expectations generally can be categorized into three types: assessments of ability, predictions of progress, and natural discrepancies between teacher estimates and actual student performance. Expectations can have the…

Using Chester Barnard's acceptance theory of authority, this study of 125 secondary teachers and coaches explored relationships involving their "zones of indifference" or extent of response to orders by authority. Specific questions addressed were: (1) whether significant relationships existed between zones of indifference to…

Observations were made of coaches' interactive behavior during competitive games, and the quantity and quality of interaction between 38 coaches and their athletes were recorded. Interactions were categorized as: (1) positive--verbal praise, nonverbal affirmative gestures; (2) neutral--lecturing, giving commands, pointing, demonstrating; and (3)…

Courts will generally support the dismissal of an employee who fails to follow the legitimate orders of his or her superior or who is so verbally abusive of his superior that the school's effectiveness is imparied. (Author)

This study is one of the few that have addressed the teacher's involvement in children's peer interactions. Some of the ways in which teacher beliefs and intentions interact reflexively with contextual factors to produce particular social realities in preschool settings are examined. Four experienced early childhood teachers of acknowledged…

This study examined the effectiveness of audiocuing as a method for training a student teacher in the skill of providing positive reinforcement to students. (Audiocuing is the pre-recorded auditory cue provided by a microcassette recording which only the subject can hear.) In the event that it is necessary for the student teacher to make…

As personality and social psychology research has shown, cross-situational consistency of people's social behavior tends to be rather low. This applies also to teachers' classroom behavior: teachers adapt to situative conditions. However, both situation specificity and teachers' adaptation are not sufficiently taken into account in research and in…

Artist/teachers are professional artists in various fields who teach in high schools for the visual and performing arts. Although many hold advanced degrees, few have taken courses in teaching methods. Nevertheless, as a group artist/teachers have a reputation for teaching excellence. Participants in this study of the psychological characteristics…

The first chapter of this book makes a case for preparing teachers to be lifelong students of teaching. Impediments to that goal are enumerated, and suggestions are made on how they might be overcome. Some of the means by which teachers can be made more reflective about their teaching are presented. In chapter 2, teachers are encouraged to become…