An experimental teacher-effectiveness intervention, a six-week training program for regular education middle school social studies teachers with mainstreamed/regular classes, produced important changes in teacher and student behavior. Forty volunteer teachers served as subjects in this one-year study. The specially designed observation code for…

Examines the cross-dimensional and cross-situational consistency of the aggressive, assertive, and submissive behavior of male adolescents observed in a variety of naturally occurring school activities. Behavior was found to vary as a function of sex role orientation and the class of behavior investigated. (LS)

Reviews a doctoral dissertation that attempts to identify and analyze the behavior of successful middle school music teachers. Describes the instrument developed to measure these behavioral characteristics. Suggests that the videotapes of class sessions may be the most useful portion of the study. (LS)

Investigated was the intellectual behavior of 66 student teachers of science. Suggests that the degree of integration of teaching practice with theoretical studies may be a more important factor than length of teaching practice. (YP)

Describes the process through which four high-achieving second graders constructed their knowledge and misconceptions of rounding concepts gained from using computer-based practice sessions which provided full solutions to examples but without verbal explanations. (31 references) (MKR)

An ethnographic study of spontaneous conversations of elementary children and their accompanying adults during a zoo field trip was conducted. (LZ)

Analyzed the relationship between general coding orientation and specific characteristics associated with the family (social class, race, gender) and the school (pedagogic practice and science achievement) of (n=80) socially differentiated elementary school children. Found that there is a mutual influence of family and school factors on students'…

Reports on a study of student perceptions of learning via audioconferencing using two distinct instructional designs in university-level courses delivered at a distance. The use of field observations, interviews, focus groups, and mail surveys is discussed; pertinent literature is reviewed; and the importance of human interaction in distance…

Discusses the concept of "Velcro time": a period in infants' lives when they show an increased interest in books and in their primary caregiver, and particularly, in his or her use of speech. (BB)

Explains a set of processes that teachers might use to structure their evaluation of students' learning and understanding. Illustrates the processes of setting goals, deciding what to assess, gathering information, and using the results through a measurement task requiring students to estimate the number of popcorn kernels in a container. (MDH)

Reports observations of primary teachers (n=14) efforts to provide activity-based lessons for their pupils. Teachers' beliefs that their lessons were student-centered were not confirmed by the observations of the lessons. Discusses implications of the findings for inservice teacher education and parental involvement. (MDH)

Small group instruction was assessed in a naturalistic study involving 206 observations of mathematics periods in 33 classrooms of grades 4, 5, and 6 in 21 schools. Six types of group instruction were identified, and teachers' use of such groups was explored. (SLD)

Reports on a process/product study undertaken to increase understanding of the nature of language instruction and its effect on language proficiency. Also discussed are a number of pedagogical issues arising from the study. (30 references)

Argues that assessment in early childhood special education needs to go beyond diagnosis of the child in isolation and include evaluation of the child using an ecological perspective. Three aspects of ecological early childhood assessment are discussed: (1) the family interview; (2) the evaluation of adult-child learning styles; and (3)…

Twenty special educators who taught pupils with mild and moderate disabilities implemented curriculum-based measurement and were periodically assessed for accuracy and given corrective feedback. Analyses indicated that systematic observation and feedback were associated with improvement in accuracy, especially on more difficult aspects of…