The procedure for conducting graduate German literary seminars at Harvard is outlined. The seminar schedule is explained in terms of the entire course and of weekly work. Such features as choice of subject for research, group discussion, oral progress reports, and presentation of seminar papers are described. The selection of seminar subject and…

Thirty-six teachers, 17 inexperienced and 19 experienced, were observed systematically (under the Flander's system of interaction analysis) while engaged in teaching migrant children in 3 Michigan elementary schools. The purpose of the study was (1) to evaluate a training program especially devised to prepare teachers of disadvantaged youth and…

The import of cognitive style research for educational problems and research is discussed. Topics covered include a definition of "cognitive style," particularly "field dependence/independence," individual differences in personal characteristics associated with differences in perceptual mode (field independence) relevance of…

This study was designed to identify stable and meaningful aspects of teaching behavior pertaining to the individualization of instruction in special classes for the retarded. Ten predominantly urban classes for intermediate educable mentally retarded pupils were selected from the total of 32 such classes in a large city. These classes were…

This document reports on an observation instrument and data obtained over 2 years as part of the national evaluation of project Follow Through. Data was collected from 70 kindergarten and first grade classrooms involved 7 different experimental programs and including 2 comparison (control) classrooms. The primary instrument used to measure teacher…

The Curriculum Research Institute papers presented here draw upon the behavioral disciplines of psychology, psychiatry, and sociology to examine some aspects of factors affecting the nurturing of individual potential. Although content, scope, and sequence of learning opportunities are central in individual development, other significant influences…

The linear orientation toward the teaching of speech communication courses designed for prospective teachers is criticized in this study for its too simplistic speaker/message/receiver paradigm. In support of the position that a far broader and more complex pattern of communication must be embraced if any contemporary theorizing about…

The development of a new approach to the analysis of teacher behavior on the dominative-integrative dimension is proposed. The major characteristics of integrative behavior are flexibility of response and acceptance of individual differences, while dominative behavior is characterized by rigidity. The approach consists of a combination of direct…

Word recognition, factual recall, and inferential comprehension skills of 30 fifth-year students who had been in an open education classroom for four years were compared with similar skills of fifth-year pupils who had been in a traditional classroom for four years. Pupils had been placed in an open or traditional classroom by parental choice, but…

Students viewed lectures varying in amount of substantive content and expressiveness of presentation. Subsequent achievement tests and ratings of lecture effectiveness revealed that high achievement level was associated with high content coverage and expressiveness. Sensitivity of ratings to content coverage and achievement did not improve after a…

Pressure for competency based teaching and the need for models of teacher effectiveness for teacher education prompted this research on the influences on cognitive and affective learning. The results indicate that teacher personality is an influence and that during the elementary years the affective domain is more important than the cognitive.…

College students viewed taped lectures which were systematically varied by lecturers's enthusiasm and amount of information presented. They then rated the lectures with a standard faculty evaluation form. Discriminant analysis was performed in order to derive optimal scoring methods for the form. (Author/JKS)

Utilizing Michael Polanyi's theory of knowledge as a framework, the author outlines an approach in which illiterate adults might increase their motivation and chances of success in developing reading skill. (EM)

The effects of systematically varied verbal and nonverbal components of teachers' evaluative behavior upon children's perceptions and attitudes were studied within an experimental classroom. Subjects were 126 sixth-grade students. (Author)

Training techniques used by five trainers conducting a workshop on changing teaching behaviors were studied to discover methods for examining trainer behaviors. Four observation methods were used. Results are discussed. (Author/DF)