This paper details how classroom reading instruction can be studied by using microethnographic techniques, wherein classroom events are videotaped and then carefully analyzed to determine their social organizational features. A short introduction to the use of microethnographic methods is presented, followed by an analysis of a lesson taught by a…

This study identified and conceptualized evidence of ideas about the nature of science to which elementary school students are exposed and the manner in which teachers provided these ideas. This was accomplished by developing a scheme for observing/analyzing classroom interaction (classroom dialogue and science activity). The scheme is…

The Developmental Teacher Evaluation Kit (DeTEK), a four-phase evaluation system, provides for ongoing, objective, systematic teacher evaluation in which teachers and administrators collaborate in making decisions leading to teacher improvement. Phase 1, prediagnostic survey, involves the teacher's self-analysis, using the Teacher Performance…

A study was conducted to determine the perceptions of community college teachers in Kansas of the competencies required for effective teaching. Questionnaires were sent to a random sample of 225 full-time instructors at 19 Kansas community colleges soliciting faculty opinions of the importance of 70 teaching competencies, organized into categories…

Literature on the efficacy of university faculty as supervisors of student teachers reveals the general opinion that university supervisors have a low impact on student teachers, and that their role is secondary to that of cooperating teachers. A cause for this is the lack of training to help student teachers respond appropriately to certain…

A program of self-evaluation was developed for teachers to use in creating a personal profile which could become the basis for designing a long-range professional development program. Seven areas for self-assessment were philosophical belief system, personality traits, interpersonal awareness traits, self-concept, learning style, teaching style,…

The National Science Foundation funded a project to: (1) identify major areas of science education research in which sufficient studies have been conducted to permit useful generalizations for educational practice; (2) conduct meta-analyses of each of these areas; and (3) prepare a compendium of these meta-analyses along with interpretative and…

This issue contains abstracts and critical comments for ten mathematics education journal articles, plus an editorial on teacher education needs by Thomas J. Cooney. Two articles focus on problem solving; the remainder concern instruction about and with computers, geometric perceptions, preservice teachers' conceptions of volume, attitudes toward…

To investigate whether teachers asked questions during reading lessons in order to evaluate rather than teach comprehension, the discourse of 11 reading lessons was audiotaped in four elementary school classrooms. Transcripts of the lessons were analyzed to identify the function and source of teacher questions and the accuracy, cognitive level,…

This speech addresses the relation of effective discipline to the pursuit of academic excellence in schools. The proposed blend of specific strategies, methods, and ways of being conducive to excellence is characterized as "three dimensional discipline." This approach involves: (1) listening to what students are thinking and feeling; (2) clearly…

A checklist to rate competencies of college reading specialists is presented, along with background information about the instrument. Based on a review of the literature on professional standards for specialists, five broad categories of competencies were developed: undergraduate training, instruction, research and measurement, administrative and…

Public and private teacher-student interactions were coded for 551 students during 10 mathematics class periods in 18 classrooms, grades 5 through 8. The observation system used was a modified version of two systems, the Brophy and Good teacher-student dyadic interaction system, and the Dweck et al. observation system to code evaluative feedback.…

This paper reviews the traditional relationship established between teaching and learning, in which teaching and teachers' concerns take focus. The maintenance of this hierarchical relationshp has resulted in a communication breakdown between educators and students, and a situation into which students have little or no input in terms of changing…

In an ethnographic study of three recently desegregated junior high schools, the pressures placed upon teachers by students in different academic tracks were analyzed. Students in each track were grouped homogeneously in terms of race, social class and academic performance. The methodology of this study consisted of utilizing students' responses…

This study was conducted to determine those competencies considered most important by cooperating teachers, student interns, and school of education faculty. Competencies from various sources were combined to form a master list of sixty-five competencies. One-hundred participants were given numbered cards with a competency printed on each. Their…