Although classroom "openness" has been much discussed in recent years, there has been little effort to investigate to what degree this openness occurs within a general sample of classrooms. The purpose of this study is to identify significant attributes of classroom activity and organization relevant to the concepts of "traditional" and "open" and…

This paper traces the development of the Maternal Teaching Style Instrument (MTSI) at the Demonstration and Research Center for Early Education (DARCEE). The MTSI was developed to document changes in maternal behavior; to better understand the role of maternal behavior as it influences children's cognitive growth and development and to redefine…

This conference paper suggests a promising model, based on a study of elementary school teachers in California, to investigate the relationship between the cognitive characteristics of teachers, their teaching behavior, and the academic success of their pupils. In the research model, two major components which affect student achievement were…

A factorial design with 48 student teachers (40 were enrolled in the author's Social Studies Curriculum course at the University of California) was used to study the effect of a Social Studies curriculum course, self-confrontation on videotape, videotape-coding practice, and Guided Self-Analysis (GSA) upon the nature of teachers questions, teacher…

Nine papers deal with (1) the problems of early adolescent education and the role of the English teacher, (2) the teacher's need to re-evaluate the function of writing assignments and the criteria by which themes are judged, (3) the organization of classroom procedures to capitalize on children's natural powers of expression, (4) the influence of…

Part I of this social studies report presents the results of curricular research, at Utah State University, to develop a set of "critical thinking" concepts appropriate for the analysis of political-ethical public issues, and to prepare materials and suggestions for teaching those concepts. The analytic concepts, presented in both outline and…

This report presents a chronological review (1893 to 1963) of formal and informal classroom observational studies which, in examining the use of recitation as a pedagogical method, show that teachers talk during the majority of classroom time, asking or reacting to factual questions posed to students. Included is a brief discussion of Arno…

One component of the Computer Based Project for the Evaluation of Media for the Handicapped focused on the effects of introducing instructional media into classes for the educable mentally retarded. The study used the methodology of participant observation, whereby researchers: 1) gained entry to the classes, 2) established rapport, 3) recorded…

This study investigated the relationship between teacher behavior and pupil reflective dialogue in the classroom assuming that social problems provide a natural springboard for inquiry through classroom discussion. It was hypothesized that different teacher strategies promote different types of class interaction. Discussion styles were to be…

Teachers in a multicultural society need to respect cultural differences, know the cultural resources their students bring to class, and be skilled at tapping into learners' cultural resources in the teaching-learning process. They must believe that all students are capable of learning, and they must implement an enriched curriculum for all…

This study is an extension of an on-going longitudinal study, the Girls Engagement With/In Science (GEIS) Project. The GEIS Project was designed to understand how girls who are poor, minority or both, engage in science. The two teachers who form the focus for this study are these girls' 7th and 8th grade teachers. Data for this interpretive…

Determined: (1) if teachers who participated in "Science Teaching and Development of Reasoning" workshops felt they utilized workshop ideas in changing teaching style/methods; (2) if nature and extent of changes made were consistent with workshop intent/philosophy; and (3) factors teachers perceived as facilitating or hindering their…

Sixty-six mothers and 34 preschool teachers were compared on two types of adult-child interaction. Although both groups were similar on some tasks, mothers asked for more responses, made more direct requests and commands, and gave more explicit and corrective feedback following children's errors. (MH)

Maintains that there is a lack of research on teaching styles and that teaching and learning styles are distinct topics and should be studied separately. Discusses research findings related to descriptive aspects of teaching styles. Presents a six-part model of teacher behaviors that comprise teaching style. (CFR)

A total of 98 elementary school teachers described their strategies for dealing with problem students and the ways in which they would handle incidents presented in 2 vignettes. Teachers usually reported the same strategies but differed in the coherence and elaboration with which they articulated the strategies. (MDM)