The focus here is on category observation instruments which typically record classroom behaviors in the form of tallies, checks, or other marks which code them into predefined categories and yield information about which behaviors occurred and how often they occurred during the period of observation. Discusses the essential properties of the…

Generalizability theory was used to study the occurrence and generalizability of classroom interaction measures. Results indicated infrequent occurrence and lack of generalizability of many behaviors of the Brophy-Good Teacher-Child Dyadic Interaction System. (JKS)

This address presents a discussion of the rationale, procedures, reliability, and validity of the "Social and Nonsocial Executive Skills Profile." The skills profile was developed to identify and measure aspects of the preschool child's classroom behavior that are highly related to social and nonsocial competence. Executive competence is defined…

To help teachers develop an awareness of how they structure a discussion, an instrument was constructed called the Assessment of Classroom Interaction Dynamics (ACID). Two expert judges and 26 trainees then participated in a study (1) to estimate interrater reliability between expert judges in the use of the ACID, (2) to assess the validity of the…

The Naturalistic Evaluation Methodology presented here rests on a transactionist theory of child development, an ecological view of human behavior and the quasi-clinical method of inquiry. It is intended that the procedures will lead not only to the improvement of the quality of preschool education but will generate knowledge about children's…

The rationale of the Observation Schedule and Record (OScAR) is described, and research is reported to show the extent to which the form fulfills its purposes. In order to provide objective, reliable, and valid information about the teaching process, this classroom observation schedule is used to record the frequency of occurrence of 42 teacher…

The feasiblity of an observational rating scale which would provide objective, reliable and quantifiable measures of social and affective behavior was investigated. The Observation of Socialization Behavior (OSB), focusing on peer-group behavior of pre-school children and designed for use in unstructured situations was developed. Two forms of the…

Maintaining that the generalizability of behavioral measures has not been sufficiently established to permit conclusions about the relationship between teacher behavior and student achievement, the present research examines the generalizability of classroom interaction variables measured by the Brophy-Good Teacher-Child Dyadic Interaction System…

Two basic problems are confronted in this research: (1) What is sex role differentiation?, and (2) How does one go about measuring it? Both questions revolve around construct validity and the adequacy of sex role measures. Most investigators have used dependent "objective-verbal" tests to measure sex role differentiation. These either involve…

This paper describes an instrument designed to yield quick and reliable data on cognitive processes in classroom interactions; techniques of applying the instrument to classroom situations; findings on the reliability of the instrument; and implications for its uses as a research instrument or, when coupled with the paradigms developed by Nelson,…

Pearson correlation coefficients between first and second year classroom process data from the Texas Teacher Effectiveness Project are presented. These data are from 19 second and third grade teachers whose classrooms were observed during two consecutive school years. The stability of classroom behaviors varied greatly across the two years.…