This paper explores the use of ethnographic biography as a source of information and reflection for student teachers. Ethnographic methods combine observation of a subject's teaching environment or context, examining the present rather than the past. Information can then be made available to student teachers in need of a personal viewpoint on…

This qualitative study determined the behaviors and strategies used by 12 high potential, middle school students when they did not feel challenged in school. Teacher reaction to these behaviors was also documented. Data analysis revealed that these students engaged in the following behaviors: (1) selective attention, (2) focused curricular…

This document provides narrative portraits of early adolescents in middle school and junior high school as described by preservice university students majoring in middle level education. The observations were made during a course titled "Middle School Programs and Practices," which develops the middle school concept across different…

Current reform efforts in the teaching of high school biology demonstrate the need for a synthetic treatment of prominent concepts. There exists insufficient research that delineates the global content understandings--in this paper designated subject matter structures (SMS)--of biology teachers; or that assesses whether these SMS do, in fact,…

To determine how children develop schema for text that include increasing sensitivity to text types, text categories, orthographic conventions in words, conventional story beginnings and endings, and text cohesive ties, a study examined the writing of four kindergarten children. The kindergarten had adopted a process-conference approach to writing…

This learning module, which is intended for use in in-service training for vocational rehabilitation counselors, reviews the systematic methods available to measure and record client behavior. The first section covers procedures for making necessary calculations and keeping needed records with respect to behavioral events and their duration and…

The process developed at Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) for evaluating adjunct faculty in the English Department parallels the one developed by full-time faculty for their own evaluation. The process, which is overseen by the Program Head for English Adjunct Faculty (PHEAF), involves student evaluations, grade analyses, classroom…

The Fort Worth (Texas) Board of Education, Superintendent, and Texas State Legislature have implemented changes in the schools to increase student learning time. The purposes of this study were to determine (1) the percentage of allocated class time used for instruction; and (2) whether overall time utilization has changed since a similar 1979-80…

This report summarizes the proceedings of an Ohio Department of Education conference convened to describe, define, and develop activities that would provide a working model of the school principal as the instructional leader. First, the results of a pre-conference principals' needs assessment, which formed the basis for conference planning and…

Written for language educators, this volume about reading and research suggests that the theory-practice and research-teaching gaps are dysfunctional and calls for a collaborative pedagogy between colleges and schools to develop a practical theory of reading instruction. In the opening article, Jerome Harste discusses issues that emerged from…

The 3-year research and development project described in this paper was conducted (1) to develop new knowledge about sex equity in classroom interactions, and (2) to develop successful techniques for reducing or eliminating sex-biased interaction. Two interventions were developed to train teachers in more equitable instructional behaviors. In the…

During the spring semester of 1987, the Alabama State Department of Education conducted a statewide assessment study in which all teachers and principals participated. The classroom performance of teachers was observed, and their teaching competencies were measured on low- and high-inference instruments. These measurements were to be used to…

The Fairfax County, Virginia, Schools' Elementary Writing Program (EWP) was evaluated over a two-year period. The first year focused on describing and analyzing program development and implementation. The second year of the evaluation addressed program effectiveness. Three questions comprised the development and implementation phase of the…

The Student Attributes Coding System has been developed for gathering data about the personal characteristics and classroom behavior of elementary school students selected for observation because they engender predictable attitudes and expectations in their teachers. This system is designed to systematically record and categorize all interactions…

Performance-based teacher certification in Georgia is centered on: criterion-referenced tests, and on-the-job assessment procedures for student teachers and beginning teachers. A state-funded contract was awarded to develop teacher certification tests, resulting in a 250-item pool and 15 criterion-referenced tests for 32 teaching fields. Cutting…