The five chapters of this report describe the development of a descriptive model of writing instruction in grades three through six. Data reported came from a study that included observations of 160 classes of writing instruction in eight classrooms throughout one school year. Following the first two chapters, which offer an overview of the study…

This study examined the relationships between various components of organizational control and individual teacher reports of autonomy. The effects of two types of control were examined: information-gathering structures (such as observation) and directive control structures (such as rules). The data for the study were drawn from a survey of 35…

A program designed to help student teachers improve their skills through interaction with their peers is described. The Peer Group Support System (P.G.S.S.) is a self-evaluation process. Participants in the P.G.S.S. are elmentary student teachers, secondary student teachers, selected students enrolled in general methods courses and the faculty of…

A study was undertaken as part of the process of trying to develop an instrument for systematically coding reading and other language arts activities in the secondary content area classroom. Six teachers chosen from five secondary schools were each observed while teaching four randomly selected classes over a two-week period. All observations were…

In a two-stage procedure to discover how children use television commercials in family group viewing situations, researchers first conducted thirty family interviews with as many family members present as possible; then they selected nine children's families for extended (three month) participant observation to study the formative aspects of each…

In a small informal study of the process of children's writing, three children, aged 9, 10, and 11, were observed as they wrote. Specifically, the study sought to discover how the children approached the task of writing, the manner and extent of their interaction, and the result of this interaction upon their writing. Each child's writing was also…

Case studies of the writing habits exhibited by anxious and nonanxious writers in workshops to reduce writing apprehension and in regular literature/composition classes have revealed how certain aspects of the composing processes of anxious writers differed from those of nonanxious writers. Some of the common problems were the lack of structured…

A review of past methods of observing teacher behavior is presented, with comment on the relative effectiveness of each method provided. A research model using videotape recording of teachers' in-classroom behavior is suggested, and information given concerning the current use of similar methods of observation. (LH)

A clinical supervision model for counseling sessions is presented as a four-step sequence, incorporating a values framework based on the notion that continued personal growth is important not only to the counselee but also to the helping professional. The term, "clinical supervision," is defined as an in vivo observation of the counseling sessions…

One function of a Human Subjects Committee is to review the possible adverse effects of ethically problematic experiments. The concerns of an institutional review committee about the possible adverse effects of an ethically-problematic "cheating" study were examined with regard to the actual effects reported by the subjects. Retrospective…

DURING THE SUMMER OF 1965, 5 AGENCIES SPONSORED A HEADSTART PROJECT FOR 4500 CHILDREN FROM THE GREATER CLEVELAND OHIO AREA. EFFORTS WERE CONCENTRATED ON ORGANIZING 5 ENDEAVORS. (1) THE DIRECTORS OF THE 5 AGENCIES WORKED TOGETHER TO ESTABLISH STANDARDS FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION PROCEDURES. (2) FROM 8 CENTERS, 125 HEADSTART CHILDREN AND 125…

IN DISCUSSING A RELIABLE AND VALID PRESERVICE PREDICTOR OF TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS, IT IS NOTED THAT MOST TEACHER SELECTION PROCEDURES DEPEND SOLELY ON PAPER AND PENCIL MEASURES OF VERBAL AND SYMBOL MANIPULATION ABILITY. THEREFORE, A NEW MULTIVARIABLE EVALUATION PROCEDURE IS OFFERED. IT CONSISTS OF (1) DEVELOPING EMPIRICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF CLASSROOM…

BASED IN PART ON A SKINNERIAN LEARNING ORIENTATION, 4 DIMENSIONS OF THE TEACHER'S BEHAVIOR ARE HYPOTHESIZED AS IMPORTANT IN MEDIATING CLASSROOM LEARNING--(1) INFORMATION GIVING (IG), (2) RESPONSE ELICITATION (RE), (3) FEEDBACK (F), AND (4) TEACHER CONTROL (TC). FROM 34 TO 42 5-MINUTE OBSERVATIONS WERE OBTAINED FOR EACH OF THE 4 TEACHERS IN A…

FOUR OBJECTIVES WERE DESCRIBED AS PART OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM FOR MOTHERS. STEP 1 WAS TO ESTABLISH PARENTAL COOPERATION EXPLAINING THE NEED FOR INTERACTION BETWEEN MOTHER AND CHILD. STEP 2 WAS TO ERASE SOME OF THE TENSION, FEAR, AND FRUSTRATION THAT WAS AROUSED WHEN MOTHERS KNEW THEY WOULD BE TESTED BEFORE THE PROGRAM WAS UNDER WAY. STEP 3 WAS TO…

EDUCATIONAL CONTROL OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS RESTS ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT THERE IS A SUBSTANTIVE BODY OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT TEACHING FOR WHICH PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION IS NECESSARY. IF SO, THE TEACHER MUST BE EVALUATED NOT AS A PERSON BUT AS A FUNCTIONARY IN A SPECIAL SITUATION (THE CLASSROOM). FOR THAT PURPOSE, CRITERIA ARE NECESSARY. PERSONALITY…