In the last quarter-century and especially the last decade, testing and accountability have come to dominate education policy at the state and national levels. The common concern about the effects of such testing is that it reshapes teaching in the classroom. But such claims do not look at the evidence of deeper classroom structures (the mix of…

In an attempt to uncover differences in student behavior as a function of class size, the author observed a small class and a large class for 15 hours each and conducted interviews with eight students who were members of both classes. Two trends emerged from these qualitative data. First, a "diverge-converge" pattern was evident in the small class…

This article presents the interactive whiteboard as a unique teaching and learning medium and explores the distinctive pedagogy that is emerging as its functionality continues to be exploited by increasing numbers of teachers. It draws on Kozma's studies of the characteristics of other learning media and how these define pedagogic opportunities to…

This paper reviews methods for conducting and reporting teacher research. Through three cases, the paper explores common and diverse methods employed in classroom inquiry. The paper recounts the history of teacher research and discusses common methodological characteristics as well as context-specific features of teacher research. The first case…

This supplementary volume presents appendixes A-E associated with a 1-year study which determined what secondary school students were doing as they engaged in the Chelsea Bank computer software simulation activities. Appendixes present the SCANS Analysis Coding Sheet; coding problem analysis of 50 video segments; student and teacher interview…

Understanding how people choose their work and educational environments and the dynamics that lead to satisfaction in these environments is critical to optimizing productivity and self actualization. The Strong Interest Inventory and the Social Skills Inventory were administered to 113 undergraduates to test the hypothesis that social types…

This study examined the response latencies of 19 reticent kindergarten children, 19 peer controls, and their teachers during three "show and tell" sessions. Findings indicated that both groups of children took longer to respond to product questions than to choice questions or comments. Similarly, teachers waited longer for responses to…

The scientific method and questionning techniques are the basis for a beginning program of descriptive research for elementary students. (JR)

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: Except for high-ability students in honors classes, ability grouping has little significant effect on learning outcomes, student attitudes toward subject matter and school, and self-concept. The differences that are found in grouped classes are all positive, however slight, and there is no evidence…

This study investigated the relationship between preschool children's participation in play activities structured by adults and the level of motor activity children exhibited while in those activities, to test the hypothesis that children's motor activity levels vary according to the level of structure imposed on activities by adults. Subjects…

This yearbook presents a collection of 50 selected research articles from the National Reading Conference for 1982 which reflect on the numerous searches that are being conducted by educational researchers whose primary purpose is to enable learners to be more efficient and effective in their construction and reconstruction of meaning. Preceding…

In his ethnographic study of junior high school literacy activities, David Bloome found support for four theoretical constructs of the student-text interaction: (1) education is a process of cultural transmission; (2) reading is defined in terms of the sociocultural context in which it occurs; (3) the interpretation of behavior and of signs occurs…

In this paper, action research is examined as a quintessential example of the relocation of the study of teaching from laboratory to classroom. Selected problematics in its practice, including the aims of inquiry, the nature of collaboration, and the anticipated audience for its outcomes are defined as inevitable challenges to be confronted.…

A total of 141 ninth grade students were observed all day in their classes to assess the typical school day of the average ninth grade student. The students were from junior high schools, high schools, and junior-senior high schools. Student behavior was observed and recorded at five minute intervals, and students were interviewed at the end of…