Structural characteristics of classroom activities and student and teacher engagement behaviors were investigated. Observer teams collected data on the structure of activities, student engagement behaviors, and teacher behaviors in arithmetic and reading lessons in six elementary classrooms in a middle class, suburban school district. The…

This document contains six modules designed for use in a training program for the improvement of teachers' classroom observation skills. Module One, "Introduction to Module on Improving Observation Skills," consists of line drawings used by the workshop leader to illustrate his explication of the intervention process. Module Two, "Improving Basic…

Written for classroom teachers, the manual describes a model for analyzing interaction between teachers and mainstreamed special education students. The introduction stresses that the model's observation approach emphasizes professional growth rather than institutional regulation. Seven steps of the model are discussed: determining teacher goals,…

The paper describes a method of observation and data recording for use with the acting-out child in the classroom. The form is explained to provide a record of behavior, measure rate, and note consequent social responses to the child's behavior from the environment, while also monitoring the behavior of the child's peers during observation…

The author argues here that progress toward greater validity in description through increasingly specifiable standards for quality control is crucial for the advancement of theory as well as for the improvement of method in descriptive studies of classroom life. Some standards for judging the validity of descriptions of classroom action are…

Systematic observations of classroom behavior of both teachers and pupils are effective measures of process in education. Until a few years ago, the classroom process--what actually does and does not happen as a result of instituting a new program--went unmeasured for want of tools and techniques to do that job. In this article, examples of…

The correct assessment of observable student behavior is an important tool in the ongoing education process. Whether the setting is a classroom, a field experience, an activity, or a residential treatment center, proper evaluation techniques will provide information for the determination of policies and programs. The Flexible Observation…

The main purpose of this study was to develop a procedure whereby teachers might improve their interpersonal transactions with students. Concomitant purposes were to develop a limited category coding system for easy use by classroom teachers and to develop a classroom observation system for research purposes. Sixteen teachers (three primary, nine…

An analysis system was developed to facilitate the comprehensive analysis of over 800 hand-written mathematics, communications, and social studies lesson transcripts. The coding scheme facilitates the reduction of qualitative data into categorical data. The heart of the analysis system is the Dominant Instructional Event (DIE) which facilitates…

Variables that schools can not directly control are predictors of a significant portion of the achievement differences of children, yet some schools seem to be operating significantly better or worse than predicted in regard to pupil achievement. This observation study represents an effort to look more closely at schools in which actual pupil…

This paper was designed to provide observational instruments and information about how to use them with future teachers or anyone interested in increasing sharpness of perspective in schools, churches, organizations (or any place where one person encounters another). Chapters discuss the following topics: (1) observation as a basis for quality…

This study observed the spatial distribution of activity in a second-third grade informal classroom and tested the general hypothesis that changes in the physical setting could produce changes in students' behavior. The experimenter observed for two weeks, using a time-sampling-by-child instrument. The activities and locations of the subjects were…

In recent years there has been an increasing demand for accountability and evaluation of teachers. One nonthreatening method that might be used by teachers to evaluate and improve their classroom performance is self-appraisal. The experiment in this document uses the Teacher Self Appraisal (TSA) observation system which divides the teaching act…

This group of papers was presented as part of a symposium entitled "Classroom Observation of Students and Teachers (COST): A Multiple Payoff Approach to Inservice Training." The first paper, "Films for Inservice Teacher Training: A Miniworkshop," outlines the rationale and development of the film series of which the film, Consequences of Behavior,…