High-stakes tests have been employed widely to engineer curriculum innovation, or achieve intended washback in education. But our understanding of the role of high-stakes tests as an agent for change is limited due to the small number of empirical studies available on this issue. This paper reports on a washback study which focuses on the writing…

This training guide is intended to enhance the skills of Head Start education staff so they can accurately and objectively observe, record, and interpret young children's behavior and make thoughtful decisions about program planning for each child. Each of the modules in the guide details module outcomes, key concepts, and background information.…

This book presents the theory and application of the Supportive Play Model (SPM), an intervention approach that incorporates best practices of the therapeutic, educational, and mental health fields. The model provides a systematic process for observing and understanding the play and development of young children with special needs and a…

A practicum was developed to help preservice teachers practice reading theories learned in the college classroom during the three-week field experience portion of the class. Preservice teachers at a Christian college in a small, rural, midwestern town had few opportunities to implement theories learned during field experience. A literature review…

A study was undertaken to determine if men dominated classroom participation in an adult professional training setting. A literature review identified a number of studies exploring classroom participation based on gender, but no study within a training environment was identified. The study was conducted in a mandatory sales training course, called…

This study examined the effects of training and follow-up training on teacher aides' effectiveness in the reinforcement of reading skills and motivational techniques introduced by kindergarten and first-grade classroom teachers. The following questions were addressed: (1) are trained assistants rated as more effective than untrained assistants?…

A pilot study systematically collected classroom assessment data in reading and compared that data to the students' test scores on the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP). A total of 61 teachers in 18 New York City public elementary schools gathered the data for 268 students in grades 2 through 6. Teachers identified the books their children could…

This list consists of 89 descriptions of methods for coding or describing activities as an observer. Included are systems for use in measuring general activity in classrooms and others for collecting data on specific events. The bibliography covers infants, grades K-12 and teacher behaviors, marital interaction, parent and child behavior, and…

This paper reports results of a follow-up, second-year survey conducted in an effort to gain a greater understanding of the perceptions and level of acceptance of informed educators regarding the Louisiana Teaching Internship Program (LTIP) and the Louisiana Teacher Evaluation Program (LTEP) prior to statewide implementation. These are new and…

An assignment was developed that requires each student in a communication class to observe the dynamic of classroom communication. In this way, both the students and the professor receive feedback about various communication roles both can take. Systematic observation systems can be defined as part of classificatory systems that record certain…

A set of dimensions for describing teacher discussion style is presented in this paper written in 1963. In the task dimension, teacher style is defined in terms of statement posture (positive or negative assertion), discussion posture (teacher's attitude toward information, e.g., descriptive, analytic), statement types (value judgments or factual…

A description is given of the Descriptive Review Process, a method of analyzing a teacher's personal style in order to promote teacher development and improvement. The process combines teacher self-evaluation with evaluation by an observer and a chairperson. The emphasis of the process is on the teacher. The teacher's role in the process involves:…

By comparing the first and fourth editions of a research methods text, the author identifies and discusses some major changes in educational research metholodogy that have occurred over the past 20 years. Some of the changes relate to ethics and legal constraints in conducting research, research and development, evaluation research, the…

A summary report is presented of the evaluation of the Core French Review conducted in North York schools in Ontario (Canada) during the 1987-88 academic year. A Core French program is one in which French as a second language is taught as a regular subject to students in an English-language school. Since September 1984, students have started Core…

This paper explores the functioning of the low-inference observation system used as part of the Tennessee Career Ladder evaluation system, which provides teachers with the opportunity to qualify for additional pay on the basis of outstanding performance. The analysis of the functioning of this form is intended to provide the basis for the ongoing…