Local education authorities in the United Kingdom are drawing up policies for implementing principal evaluation. This article describes three case studies based on observations of three elementary school principals' daily activities. The exercise raised several issues, including the need for a whole school approach, a clearly delineated appraisal…

Observer's paradox, the basic problem facing any analyst interested in understanding how people talk to each other within naturally occurring contexts, is discussed. In observer's paradox, by recording or observing everyday interaction, one is contaminating interaction by process of observation. An extension to sociolinguistic method is suggested…

Evaluators should help teachers promote professional excellence, improve student learning, and realize classroom consistency. Consistent evaluators possess certain skills, including gathering factual data, observing objectively, gauging teachers' effectiveness at reinforcing lesson plans, establishing ameliorative guidelines through clinical…

Reports development of observation system, Preschool Observation Code (POC), for use across phases of preschool intervention design and evaluation. Describes purpose of code, procedures used for code, procedures used for code construction, and two related studies of interrater and criterion-referenced agreement. Discusses practical issues related…

Discusses measures of infants and toddlers developing vocabularies. Suggests that what is needed are norms derived from observations of typically-developing bilingual children, followed up by measures of concurrent and predictive validity. (Author/VWL)

Verbally describing places visited on a wilderness expedition in great detail, using poetic metaphors to add power, does more than improve descriptive skills. Speaking the place aloud deepens the experience by sharpening one's observational skills and adding an imaginative aspect that brings the place alive. Writing the observations in a journal…

Research published since 1980 on the uses of technology in special education is reviewed, including observational and naturalistic studies. The diversity of research in special education stems from the multiple roles of the special education teacher, who has many responsibilities beyond instruction. (SLD)

Presents an heuristic approach to qualitative educational research. Practical theories of research are viewed as personal. They need to be examined to gain a better understanding of the research self and to understand the perspective of others. Exercises designed to generate this understanding are thus a prerequisite for research. (MMU)

This study examined the representativeness of a time-sampling observational procedure to evaluate students with behavior disorders by examining error in samples of varying size in comparison to a criterion measure. Analyses of both single subject and multiple subject designs suggested that samples of 16 to 20 observational sessions of eight-minute…

Presents an embryology laboratory observing the development of Ginkgo biloba's embryos into trees. Explains the methodology for the lab and discusses research questions. (YDS)

This study examined issues in supporting middle school teachers to become more learner centered when implementing computer-based, workplace simulations in their classrooms. Focuses on a participant observation study of two teachers to develop and evolve a framework for professional development that included reflective skills and proximal goals.…

Discusses nature activities that teachers can use with young children to help develop the children's observation and processing skills. Teachers and students can examine weeds in the spring, observe and understand the role that insects play in nature, study the many colors and sizes of leaves in the fall, and find and analyze animal tracks in the…

Presents an activity, appropriate for children in grades five through nine, that requires students to reconstruct a Lego structure after reading other students' written description of the construction process. Highlights the connection between explicit writing and scientific observation and involves students in observing, classifying, measuring,…

Observation of two students from nondominant cultures demonstrated the role of social and visual learning in the classroom as children watched each other for direction. The need for appropriate visual cues and for structure was apparent. (SK)

Reviews the purposes of student teacher assessment, professional association standards, and assessment problems. Describes a process used at Central Missouri State University, which includes observations by supervisors and cooperating teachers, assessment of portfolios, videotaped lessons, and four on-campus seminars. (SK)