The collaborative effort of a professor of human development with expertise in group process and a general education professor with expertise in Greek mythology and culture uses a case study format to apply theoretical models of group dynamics to the travel and learning experience of study abroad. Implications for course design and group process…

To help future teachers understand how problems of poverty, abuse, and indifferent medical care affect children's learning, the elementary education faculty at SUNY-College at Oneonta (New York) instituted a new graduation requirement called "Early Field Experiences." Elementary education majors must complete 40 hours of field…

This article discusses how four direct observational principles have contributed to the development of assessment and tutoring strategies for individuals in English and Maori language reading tutoring programs. The assessment strategies generated from observations of reader and tutor interaction have provided strong support for learning to read in…

Differences in social behavior of middle-class kindergartners with and without previous day care experience were compared through classroom observations and teacher ratings during the second semester of kindergarten. (BB)

Describes a two-year Canadian project devoted to the development and formative evaluation of a graduated series of four graphics-based programing environments for young children, called pre-Logo Microworlds. Field tests of software and instructional materials are described, and classroom observations and teacher and student interviews are…

Describes a case study that was designed to discover how seventh-grade students felt about writing when composed using a word processing program compared to using pen and paper. Student and teacher interviews are discussed, classroom observations are reported, and factors students found important to enjoyment of writing assignments are described.…

This study investigated the relationship between behaviors of 10 preservice student teachers completing their student teaching in the area of emotional disturbed/behavior disorders and ratings of their teaching effectiveness by observers. The highest obtained correlation was between the amount of off-task student time observed in the classroom and…

Observations of second- and third-grade teachers who participated in a staff development program illustrate teachers' difficulties with getting low achievers to focus on and understand the process of being strategic and with using literacy tasks to teach strategy. (BB)

A direct observation procedure was used to evaluate first-grade children identified in kindergarten as at risk for development of conduct disorders based on behavior problem incidence rates of schools, teacher reports of school readiness, and parents' ratings of child behavior. High-risk kindergarten children demonstrated first-grade difficulties…

Examines the origins of school knowledge, and proposes a new tool for analyzing in-class teaching phenomena for different disciplines. Teachers who have mastered the structures of their own discipline's teaching content analyze and compare the contents of other disciplines, thus addressing multidisciplinary teaching problems with a didactic…

Analyzes Web-searching behavior for homework assignments of high school students through field observations in class and at the computer terminal with students thinking aloud, and through interviews with various participants. Results emphasize the need for training and for system design based on user seeking and search behavior. (Author/LRW)

Discusses the rationale, procedures and techniques, and findings of an exploratory study carried out at Bilkent University School of English Language (BUSEL), and proposes an exploratory framework through which learner observations of teaching and learning can be effectively used to achieve collaborative exploration of teaching and learning.…

This article deals with part of a project set up to investigate the assumptions and beliefs about communicative language teaching of a group of primary language teachers in the Darling Downs Region of Queensland, Australia. The project was conducted by a questionnaire, interviewing six randomly-selected teachers, and videotaping the six teachers'…

Classroom observations and field notes were collected during group reading time in four southeast London primary schools to investigate the interplay between gender, teacher, and peer group influences. Reading behavior among boys differed in each classroom. English as an Additional Language (EAL) male students seemed highly motivated;…

Reports a study that describes and classifies actual teaching practices used by 18 English-as-Second-Language teachers in Australian classrooms. Data were collected through observations of three lessons and subsequent interviews with the teacher. Almost 300 individual practices were identified. (Author/VWL)