Remarks on the practice of class visitation at the college level in English courses are directed toward revealing critical weaknesses of such practice. Examples, drawn from experience, suggest that psychological damage to the instructor often results from direct classroom observation. A more successful approach to evaluation is discussed in terms…

It has been the experience of most adult basic education teachers that their students are apprehensive about taking tests. The study evaluates the effects of training adult basic education teachers in behavioral attending skills. Two basic questions were investigated: (1) Would the training of instructors in the use of behavior attending skills…

Three common methodological problems in the analysis of observational data include: (1) failure to base degrees of freedom for the analysis on the appropriate sampling unit; (2) the validity of the design and data are inconsistent with the generalizations reached; (3) the statistic used to calculate coder reliability is often inappropriate and…

It was hypothesized that 1) prospective teachers who have been trained in microplanning will score higher on tests of teacher effectiveness and 2) will not change their attitudes about pupils and teaching in an undesirable direction. Subjects were 20 secondary school social studies majors, 10 who volunteered to take an experimental teacher…

This study represents classroom observations of a secondary school which employs ability grouping for grades seven through twelve. The effects of ability grouping on the interaction in the classroom was measured with use of Flanders Interaction Analysis. Two history teachers with identical grades and phases were used in this study which began in…

Articles previously published in "Today's Education" and in other publications produced by professional organizations in the NEA Center are reproduced in this book. The collection presents a description and analysis of current student needs. The six sections of the book are: (1) The Early Environment (suggestions for parents and teachers on how to…

This study investigated the effect of locale, grade, and subject on instructional quality. Rural and urban teachers were observed teaching grades 4, 5, and 6 in social studies, mathematics, and language arts. It was hypothesized that teacher verbal behavior in a classroom predicated the quality and quantity of cognitive behavior of pupils. Rural…

The Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study, Phase II, was a research project on effective teaching behavior--what teachers do that significantly affects what and how pupils learn. The purposes of Phase II were to (1) develop an assessment system for measuring teacher and student behaviors and other factors which could influence each of them and their…

When asked to assess an object or event that allowed for a variety of points of view, inservice teachers after value clarification training (to a greater degree than before such training): (1) showed more openness to the needs and interests of students as individuals and as a group and less identification with authority figures; (2) indirectly…

Modification of teacher behavior using videotapes and the Withall Social Emotional Climate and Golloway instruments to classify teacher behaviors resulted in maintaining positive pupil attitudes toward school and teachers and self-esteem over one academic year. Previous studies had shown a decline in these types of pupil attitudes during an…

The "teaching spectacle" approach (where the teacher is the major and only character involved in teaching and learning) often observed in university-level English as a second language classes in Indonesia must be abandoned in favor of a "learning festival" approach, which encourages complete involvement of both teachers and…

This study investigated the perceptions of 79 senior special education practicum students regarding the appropriate role of their university supervisor during a field-based experience. Content analysis showed that students perceived two distinct roles for supervisors: provider of evaluative feedback and support person. (Author/JDD)

This study compared 52 resource room programs for mildly mentally handicapped, learning disabled, and severely emotionally disturbed secondary students, which used or did not use microcomputers. Benefits of microcomputer use included increased active task engagement and increased individually focused instruction, but overall differences in most…

Describes the success of an experienced middle school teacher in balancing her professional and personal values with organizational obligations and responsibilites to students. Encourages administrators to support teachers in the construction, evaluation, and revision of the classroom curriculum and to provide more collegial exchange opportunities…

Research that provides a detailed analysis of college instructor expressiveness indicates that it influences student achievement and perceptions of teacher control in the classroom, but not for all students or in all classrooms. This body of research can contribute to development of models for classroom instruction. (MSE)