Rubric-based observations of pre- and inservice teachers are common practice in schools. Popular observation tools often result in minimal variation in ratings between teachers, require extensive training and time demands for raters, and provide minimal feedback for professional development. Alternatively, direct observation methods are evidenced…

Out-of-school programs for students with high abilities are especially relevant when their needs are not covered in formal education. The evaluation of these programs is essential and it can be carried out from different evaluative approaches. The evaluation of the behavior of the people who implement the programs is an important aspect in the…

Children who engage in chronic problem behavior can present challenges for their early childhood teachers, and are more likely to develop negative relationships with these and other adults with whom they interact. Unfortunately, children who develop negative relationships with their teachers early in their school careers are more likely to have…

A Teacher Observation Scale (TOS) was developed in order to compare the behavior of teachers using the material of project PLAN with those using conventional insturctional systems. The scale listed 17 categories of teacher behavior grouped under the headings: individual instruction, group discussion, behavior modification, systems management, and…

For evaluation and further development of the First-Year Communication Skills Program, a classroom observational study was conducted to determine the extent to which teachers demonstrated the desired instructional behaviors and to measure pupil response rate. A sample of 10 classes was selected for observation by two observers during a regularly…

Describes a simple observational method for recording and evaluating the caregiving behavior of teachers of younger and older infants that may be used to foster program improvement. (ED)

Systematic observations of classroom behavior of both teachers and pupils are effective measures of process in education. Until a few years ago, the classroom process--what actually does and does not happen as a result of instituting a new program--went unmeasured for want of tools and techniques to do that job. In this article, examples of…

In the High/Scope Cognitively Oriented Curriculum, teachers create an environment in which students develop and apply cognitive capacities in the areas of classification, seriation, spatial and temporal relations and in the process of representation to the widest ranges of materials and subjects. Learning takes place through the child's…

This report presents the background of the development of a series of questionnaires and observation procedures designed to gather information on day care in Pennsylvania. The document discusses the procedures and evaluation strategy of the Pennsylvania Day Care Study Project. Two basic questionnaire forms were developed, each with one version for…

A two-level model was formulated for the evaluation projects engaged in staff development in the Memphis elementary schools. The model takes into account that such projects are responsible for direct outcome in terms of teacher behavior, and indirect outcome in terms of pupil behavior. The two-level model provides an opportunity for assessing the…

The manual details an observational code designed to track a child during an entire day in a preschool setting. The Eco-Behavioral System for Complex Assessments of Preschool Environments (ESCAPE) encompasses assessment of the following three major categories of variables with their respective subcategories: (1) ecological variables (designated…

The purpose of this study was to gather descriptive data for a comparative analysis of classroom and physical education teaching. A description is provided of the instrument used in collecting a wide range of data appropriate to both the classroom and the gymnasium. Four behavioral categories were observed: substantive behavior, appraisal…

The nature of on-going instructional processes and pupil experiences were studied in two classes of a British infant school. Using PROSE (Personal Record of School Experience) as the primary observation instrument, 24 children, aged five through seven years, equally divided as to sex, were observed during seven days. A total of 9 cycles and 45…

A two-year evaluation of William Glasser's Schools Without Failure (SWF) program was carried out in the New Castle School District in Pennsylvania. In the first year, ten elementary schools were paired on the basis of size, socioeconomic status, and past achievement of pupils. One school of each pair was randomly assigned to begin teacher-training…

This paper presents an evaluation of both process (program content) and outcome (effects on children) of a day care center and emphasizes the importance of considering process variables in order to understand program results. Subjects for the study were 25 control children who were not attending a preschool program, 25 children who attended the…