The qualities and characteristics of excellent faculty at Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) are described in this paper. First, an underlying set of assumptions is presented, stressing that the qualities identified as representative of faculty excellence apply equally to classroom teachers, librarians, counselors, and other non-teaching faculty,…

A study examined the effects of different teacher styles on one variable related to classroom learning production. Subjects, 34 first grade middle- and lower-middle income students in a Catholic school matched by ability and randomly assigned to either an authoritarian, systematic, ordered, and controlling teacher or to a "laissez faire"…

A study was conducted to observe four elementary school teachers in an effort to determine the influence that their teaching styles and teaching approaches had on their students' ability to think more critically. After the teachers completed a questionnaire about their classroom situation and had a brief interview with the observer, each teacher…

A 25-item survey focusing on teacher effectiveness was completed by a volunteer sample of 86 special education teachers. Respondents ranked survey items which had been developed from a review of the research literature identifying characteristics of teacher effectiveness. Five survey items were presented in each of the following categories: (1)…

This report focuses on current attempts by researchers to examine teacher effectiveness through the "task hypothesis," which asserts that effective teachers accomplish a large and diverse set of tasks--or discrete, goal-oriented units of work--in their classroom. After an introductory critique of past efforts to assess teacher "traits" or…

Cognitive style is a psychological construct concerning the manner in which individuals differ from one another in intellectual functioning. Researchers in the area have amassed evidence suggesting that cognitive style affects the way students learn, the way teachers teach, and the way students and teachers interact. Focusing on cognitive style…

The Effective Classroom Management and Discipline Strategies Graduate Program for Educators is organized around a series of core modules designed for use in inservice teacher education. The basic skills learned in these series of modules are communication (feedback, nonverbal, listening, self disclosure, problem solving, and conflict resolution),…

Attention is drawn to aspects of the transfer of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) expertise to both developing and developed nonnative English-speaking countries. It is maintained that: (1) several facts that have nearly the strength of canonical truths in the West reveal an ignorance of, and perhaps an indifference to, the socio-cultural,…

C. Roland Christensen's 13 sessions on "Teaching and the Case Method" are discussed. This collection of cases and readings on teaching with the case method in graduate professional programs and in the liberal arts is a statement of the rationale, methods, and recurring problems of the case method. It has much to say, also, about teaching and…

This monograph presents abstracts of research studies conducted with the support of grants provided by the Queensland Board of Teacher Education. The following studies are summarized: (1) "The Effectiveness of Induction Programs for Beginning Teachers in Queensland State Primary Schools" (Elspeth Davis); (2) "The Development and…

Noting that improving teaching effectiveness is a major concern for those working toward educational reform, this annotated bibliography provides references to inform teachers at all levels and researchers about classroom interaction. The 40 references are confined to theory and research on verbal and nonverbal face-to-face interaction between…

Five elements of teaching style which are directly related to effective learning patterns are identified: (1) warmth--monitoring seatwork, communicating awareness of behavior, providing individual assistance; (2) cognitive organization--feedback, fast-paced activities, variety of learning drills; (3) orderliness--rules, smooth transitions,…

Evaluated in this study are 20 elementary school teachers' responses to a categorical statement concerning teacher decision-making. The statement used was: "Teaching depends on dividing the school day into chunks of time for each separate subject-matter area." Using the results, the way the 20 teachers talked is described and analyzed,…

An evaluation study was made of a project which developed videocassette learning modules featuring outstanding vocational agriculture teachers illustrating their teaching methods. The two-fold purpose of the study was to determine what teaching characteristics were considered most important by students, and whether viewing the videotapes…

Determining the characteristics of effective teaching has been a problem for more than 50 years. Studies attempting to rate characteristics or to devise a fair evaluation method abound, but one necessary perspective must not be overlooked: that of the student. An effective teacher transmits knowledge with a blend of intensity and empathy that…