The effect of ESL (English as a Second Language) teaching techniques on student learning was investigated. A group of 18 ESL teachers and their classes were observed across four lessons having a similar content. Students were pre- and post-tested over a six-month period in two measures of language performance: oral comprehension and production.…

Systematic classroom observation instruments were used to study the relationship between student coping style and student growth in reading. Classrom behaviors were recorded in the fall and the following spring with the Coping Analysis Schedule for Educational Settings (CASES). Data were analyzed separately for two types of classroom setings:…

A 4-year project, Conceptions of Reading, was established to provide information about how teachers use reading theories and models and other conceptions as they plan and carry out reading instruction. The nature of the methodology dictated that the over-all goal of the project be to characterize how teachers think about reading and their reading…

This paper discusses several interrelated features of microethnography that are relevant and useful for the study of bilingual schooling. It is argued that an interactional approach provides a powerful way to study systematically the organization of bilingual learning environment, identify areas of difficulty, and suggest concrete interventions…

The Assessments of Performance in Teaching (APT), presented here, is a classroom teacher performance evaluation procedure mandated by the South Carolina Legislature for all student and first year teachers, and will be implemented in 1982. Aiming to measure minimal competence, the instrument addresses five performance dimensions: planning;…

A finding in the 1975-76 evaluation of several California programs designed to improve the academic achievement of young children indicated that in schools whose students scored at or below the twentieth percentile on the Entry Level Test in 1973-74, third grade reading test scores had declined relative to their predicted scores over the…

The overall purpose of the national Head Start evaluation is to assess the impact, on the children and parents being served, of: the educational services component of Head Start, and a new demonstration program within Head Start, Basic Educational Skills. The evaluation deals with a total of 65 Head Start programs and their families. These…

A study of the written language that was produced within one junior high school social studies classroom over a 38-minute period was based on the assumptions that (1) written language is not only affected by the context of the communicative event in which it is involved, but is also involved in the construction of the communicative event; (2) the…

A review of selected literature on classroom processes indicates that the primary preoccupation of educational researchers is with the dominance and centrality of the teacher. The research has primarily been concerned with documenting the strong relationship between the teacher's expectations of a pupil's performance and the actual performance of…

A longitudinal study was conducted in three Maryland counties to determine the predictive validity of the Maryland Systematic Teacher Observation Instrument (MSTOI) and other initial assessment instruments as screening devices to identify kindergarten children with potential reading and/or learning difficulties. The MSTOI was also examined to…

This case study of a kindergarten boy in the Kamehameha Early Education Program (KEEP) suggests that specific operant training in school-relevant behaviors can facilitate classroom adjustment if the training is coordinated with the regular classroom teacher. The subject, considered unmanageable, hyperactive, and aggressive by the staff at his…

The object of this research was to establish a reliable test battery to determine probable future success for those persons who wish to be trained as expert classroom observers. The focus of this investigation was to predict coding performance. This report presents the findings of a replication of an earlier study that indicated that coder…

Five author contributed chapters explore the social environment of the schools as it relates to mainstreaming handicapped children. M. Reynolds discusses "The Changing Social Environment" in the first chapter. Emphasis is placed on the use of developmental scales in the organization of improved schools. "The Social Integration of Handicapped…

An ongoing research project, Dimensions of Classroom Instruction (DCI) is described. The primary data source is a study of reading in nine second-grade classrooms using such observation techniques as categorical observation, ethnographic observation, and videotaping. Three major objectives for the project are stated: 1) developing methods of…

The purpose of this paper is to report progress on the development of an observation instrument useful in characterizing the communication between teacher and student during oral reading instruction. The paper is divided into five major sections: (1) an overview of oral reading instruction at primary levels, (2) a theoretical perspective for…