This paper reports on a study conducted to clarify issues involving reward effects in children's probability learning; specifically, the detrimental-effects-of-reward theory, and the utility and expectancy theories. Five event schedules in which the probabilistic versus partial reinforcement dimension was separated from the number of choices in…

This monograph reports on a project designed to help teachers use Erik Erikson's concept of ego psychology as a framework to help students with school-related difficulties. It was hypothesized that a full understanding of the growth patterns of students, their orientation to their social (school and family) environment, and the development of…

This workbook is designed to help student teachers and paraprofessionals involved in early childhood programs evaluate their reactions to problem situations and assess their teaching potential based on past performance, individual preferences and attitudes, and evaluations by others. The first section contains perforated worksheets presenting…

This research examined teacher evaluation of performance of black and white third graders of middle and lower socioeconomic status when adequacy of performance was equivalent for all groups, although the students' speech patterns varied as a function of their race and social class. Teachers rated and ranked taped picture descriptions that were…

This paper discusses the problem of providing language practice for foreign language students that is meaningful and communicative as well as structured sufficiently to give practice toward functional command of basic grammatical components. A brief review of the communicative status of drills is presented, along with a technique designed to bring…

The purposes of this study were (1) to identify the concerns about teaching expressed in their early years of teaching by graduates of the early childhood education (ECE) program at Concordia Teachers College (CTC), a church-related teacher education institution, and (2) to determine the relationship between teaching concerns and the variables of…

This study addresses the question: Is the verbal interaction between teachers and students reciprocal? Teachers' and students' verbal behaviors were investigated using the verbal behavior classification system (CVC) in 72 seventh through ninth grade classrooms. The CVC system consists of a matrix of process and substance dimensions. Categories in…

The relationships between schools' physical environments and the teachers who work in them were explored. Eleven middle school teachers were interviewed about their orientation toward and operation in their schools. They were asked what they thought were their schools' most important features, how they felt about the buildings, what were its good…

Much valuable information can be gained by analyzing the students' wrong responses. When a student answers a free response item she/he gives the response which she/he considers to be the correct one. Therefore, diagnosing the algorithm that led the student to his/her answer provides an important source of information for assessing his/her…

The purpose of this book is to share successful instructional and learning processes with educators. The focus is on three types of variables in classroom learning and instruction: (1) active learning time; (2) feedback and corrective procedures; and (3) instructional cues. The literature on the nature of each variable is discussed, and the…

A training program for changing teachers' classroom behaviors was developed after observations indicated that students gained in reading skills when teachers spent more time instructing, discussing homework, and providing supportive feedback. During workshop sessions teachers were encouraged to: (1) decrease time taken to make assignments and…

The teacher program and instructional materials described here focus on skill building in methods of responsiveness, increasing student initiative, and providing varying degrees of structure according to student needs. This descriptive report provides information on the purposes and content of the program as well as activities and resources…

Because individual teachers have ultimate control over the implementation of educational innovations, their feelings toward innovation are of interest to educational researchers. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model was based on research findings about educational dissemination and change. The model describes adoption of innovation as a growth…

Guidelines for test item-writing have traditionally recommended making the correct answer of a multiple-choice item grammatically consistent with its stem. To investigate the effects of adhering to this practice, certain item formats were designed to determine whether the practice of providing relevant grammatical clues, in itself, created cue…

MATRIX GAMES IS A MODIFIED PROGRAMED-INSTRUCTION APPROACH TO TEACHING AND DEVELOPING LANGUAGE SKILLS. IN THIS STUDY, A BOARD DISPLAYING 16 PICTURES IN A 4 X 4 MATRIX WAS PLACED IN FRONT OF SEVERAL 4- OR 5-YEAR-OLDS. THE PICTURES COMPOSING A ROW CONTAINED A COMMON ITEM, FOR EXAMPLE, A BOY. THE PICTURES OF A COLUMN ALSO CONTAINED A COMMON ITEM, FOR…