Explains the difference between children's sensible reasoning and Piagetian conceptions of concrete reasoning. Children will modify their experiments to accommodate their beliefs long before they will change their beliefs to fit the evidence. Teachers should stress relevance, prediction, and consistency when resolving discrepancies between beliefs…

A growing number of administrator preparation programs are including a formal mentor-intern requirement in their training activities. This article describes an Indiana University program that introduces mentors and interns to shadowing (gathering observational data) and reflective interviewing practices. Includes four references. (MLH)

The most frequently used cooperative learning models feature five common components: heterogeneous teams, teammate interdependence, team interdependence, accountability, and activity appropriateness. These elements are explained to assist supervisors desiring to evaluate teachers using cooperative learning methods. Includes seven references. (MLH)

Developed behavior observation system for group supervision, designed to measure occurrence of verbal problem-solving behavior during group supervision meetings. Obtained reliability data from four counseling teams' group supervision meetings at residential facility for children with social and emotional problems. Results indicated that system had…

This article describes a system based on the Epson HX-20 used for real time (rather than time-sample) recording of behavior observation data, which allows the researcher additional options in analysis. Examples of the programs developed, types of research questions asked, and data analyses conducted are provided. (Author/PB)

The purpose of this study was to determine the minimal conditions of observation needed to obtain generalizable results across observers, trials, and subjects for the hop, jump, and run at the elementary level. Results are discussed. (JD)

Describes Britain's use of work shadowing, in which an observer follows a worker around for a period of time, observing the various tasks in which the worker engages. Considers potential relationship of work shadowing to work-related learning in the United States. (Author/NB)

The study investigated the ability of child protective service workers to distinguish videotaped interactions of physically abusive parent-child dyads from interactions of nonabuse dyads during a teaching task. Child protection workers achieved a 76 percent rate of accuracy in identify the abuse status of dyads after only three minutes of observed…

Rating errors in personnel evaluation are universal but may be minimized if administrators are aware of them. Research identifies seven types of error: unwarranted strictness, unwarranted leniency, central tendency, halo effect, recency, contrast, and attribution. Countermeasures include developing clear term definitions, using multiple raters,…

Describes data analysis activities for grades three to four and five to six based on popular television commercials. Includes reproducible student worksheets. (MKR)

Provides an analysis of America based on the travel accounts of several foreign visitors and diplomats over the course of U.S. history. Viewpoints are expressed that reveal an America with many contradictions and a dark side. (GLR)

Describes investigation systematically comparing influence of naturalistic social behaviors and nonbehavioral variables, measured by live observations, on development of peer status in unfamiliar boys attending summer research program. Participants included attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and comparison boys. Discusses implications for…

Consensus refers to the extent of two judges' agreement in rating a common target. A general model of interpersonal perception based on the weighted average model of N. H. Anderson (1981) is developed to show that increased acquaintance does not always lead to changes in consensus. (SLD)

Clinical supervision stresses face-to-face encounters with individual teachers about a specific teaching/learning situation. The process incorporates the use of specific objective data forming the basis for collaborating and aimed at instructional improvement. The five stages are preobservation conference, classroom observation, data and strategy…

Defines qualitative research and describes the growing interest in its use in library literature. Differences between qualitative and quantitative research are explained; and qualitative research techniques are described, including direct observation for case studies, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and oral history. (14 references) (LRW)