The relationships among training activities, teacher perceptions of recommended practices, and teacher behavior change were investigated. Nineteen junior high school teachers of low-achieving students were observed prior to receiving training in workshops on use of academic time. The teachers also responded to questionnaires designed to determine…

This document responds to the need for integration of basic skills into vocational education by providing a summary of research findings, implications, and practical suggestions for teachers. The six sections and four complementary posters are intended as tools for staff development of teachers engaged in teaching basic skills. Sections can also…

Teaching is by nature a complex activity filled with ambiguities and dilemmas. Teaching also is fundamentally a moral activity, making the dilemmas and ambiguities both pedagogical and moral in nature. This article describes one teacher's reflections on her efforts to resolve the dilemmas and ambiguities presented to her by the competing…

A variety of educational issues and techniques are discussed in 12 essays by faculty and students at the Connecticut community colleges. Phillip Wheaton recalls the austere beginnings of Middlesex Community College (MCC). Mary-Jo Hewitt describes her adjustment to a four-year college after transferring from MCC. Following a poem by James Childs,…

English and mathematics teachers in junior high schools were observed for an average of 20 one-hour periods throughout the school year. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between the affective behavior of the teacher and the students' academic achievement and attitudes. Anecdotal information based on the classroom…

The effects of student socioeconomic status (SES) and four teacher behaviors--teacher structure, teacher affect, cognitive level of questions, and group size--on student reading achievement were analyzed. Subjects were 36 fifth and sixth grade classroom teachers and their 820 students. Data were collected with the Reading Comprehension Subtest…

A complete course outline is offered to educators and others who would prepare an intensive seminar on the sharpening of teaching skills for college and university professors. The practical methods and principles used are derived in part from careful investigation, by logic, and most frequently by experience. Five units are outlined: preparing…

The rationale for providing university teaching improvement courses is documented and explained. Although graduate students in modern universities are typically well prepared to criticize, formulate, and conduct high level research projects in their respective disciplines, no parallel training in critiquing, formulating, and carrying out teaching…

Interviews with the day teaching faculty at American River College were conducted to determine which variables most affect class withdrawal and retention rates. During the interviews, each instructor was asked to think of any one of his/her day classes taught during the preceding semester and to answer 30 questions concerning, among other items,…

Teachers were designated as more and less effective according to their ability to teach specially constructed reading and mathematics curriculum units over two weeks. They were then studied to determine if their perceptions of classroom interaction and interactive decision making were different. They were also studied to determine whether they…

Although specific procedures for "participant observation" (PO) vary, it is always based on the principle that while the observer (O) will adopt preconceived structural outlines and dimensional scales in the course of his summary, he--rather than any outlines or scales--is the instrument for inferring data. Applications of modified PO…

This report reviews 3 demonstration studies in which the Topic Classification System of classroom interaction analysis (a system of analyzing teacher objectives and student performance) was applied to 3 samples of classroom behaviors to determine the range and limitations of the system. In the introduction the system is discussed with reference to…

Cooperating teachers, college supervisors, and student teachers must work as a team to plan student-teaching programs which will provide opportunities for evaluating teacher performance and subject matter competence and which will encourage individual teaching styles. The evaluation of student-teacher performance can be improved by three-way…

The purpose of this study was to describe fully day care programs, to find factors predictive of differences in programs, and to evaluate the effectiveness of day care centers. Teachers in 50 randomly selected day care centers in Los Angeles were observed for four 20-minute periods daily for 10 days. The results indicated the following points:…

A method for combining the techniques of microteaching with those of interaction process analysis is presented. Using this method a matrix analysis can be performed which will give a teacher feedback on the target objectives for a given microteaching session. This handbook gives the rationale for this method, presents a General Inventory Guide for…