When university academics implement changes in learning, such as introducing blended learning, it is conventional practice to examine and evaluate the impact of the resulting curriculum reform. Judging the worth and impact of an educational development is a complex task involving subtle differences in learning. Qualitative methods to explore these…

This study investigated the practice of an expert reading coach as she provided lesson observation and feedback to an experienced kindergarten teacher. Data sources for the study included three cycles of observation of coaching sessions and guided reading instruction, as well as interviews. The report describes (a) the coach's modeling of…

Evaluation of teaching remains an inaccurate undertaking. Many believe that taking into factor the numbers of classes taught, students taught, graduate students supervised, honors contacts made, and undergraduates mentored are the best quantifiable measures for teaching. However, this author argues that such measures do little to provide a useful…

A discussion of the development of simple observational instruments for assessing the quality of cognitive and prosocial elements of diverse preschool programs. (EH)

Presented are a strategy for recording observations of preschool children, documentation of the strategy in use in a nursery school, and thoughts on the importance of observing for curriculum planning, teacher-parent conferences, and professionalism. The system of documentation includes a daily attendance record, written observations on children's…

An observational measurement system was used to examine the interaction of 14 learning disabled (LD) students (12-15 years old) and their teachers. Interactions were compared with those of 16 non LD students (12-16 years old). It was hypothesized that LDs would have fewer interactions with their teachers and that the proportion of negative…

The Hempstead schools on Long Island are among the nation's most progressive. The district has been cited by the USOE for its exemplary compensatory program. The system was individualized, but the quality of instruction could not be determined until each teacher was assessed. To do this, the district used a teaching survey instrument called the…

Symbolic interaction is a useful perspective, a viable theoretical approach to getting at answers to many important questions related to educational technology. Participant observation is a useful methodology for rooting answers out of the research setting. (Author)

Compares the effectiveness of videotapes, audiotapes, and Flanders Interaction Analysis, in microteaching. (JF)

This study used a small sample in an intensive evaluation of a nationally disseminated Head Start program. Program-specific goals were quantitatively assessed by the use of subtests from the newly developed McCarthy Scale of Children's Abilities and by two innovative classroom observation schedules. (Author)

In order to assess the classroom behavior of PLAN students relative to students in other instructional systems, the PLAN Student Observation Scale (PLAN-SOS) was developed. Specifically, PLAN-SOS was designed to measure the percentages of time that students spend performing various behaviors judged to be important to the learning process in a…

The objective of this study was to show how classroom observation systems measuring different dimensions of student behavior might be used simultaneously to record and analyze classroom process variables used by teachers. The subjects of the study were 71 student teachers, and the four observational systems were the Reciprocal Category System, the…

Classroom observation has the potential of obtaining valuable information regarding teacher and child behavior. This study examines the accuracy of observers coding a standard stimuli. In this procedure the observer's bias is examined, as well as the confidence that can be placed in the observation code itself. Through these procedures the exact…

Observer disagreement is important insofar as it limits the reliabilities of observational records. This discussion evolves around methods and conditions under which observer agreement can be measured as to minimize such an occurrence. Observers should be trained to nearly perfect agreement with a criterion or expert coder on unambiguous examples…

Simply presenting information that displays clearly any discrepancy between a teacher's ideal and actual classroom performance does not, in itself, promise constructive change. This is true in part because teachers confronted with such discrepancies often experience anxiety. Teachers who wish to change often find it difficult to behave differently…