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This report is one in a series presenting findings from a major multi-site investigation into clinical preservice teacher education. The larger study makes available an in-depth description of participants, practice, and outcomes of the student teaching experience in two settings. This report presents, through three selected case studies, one facet of that comprehensive picture: a view of the idiosyncratic aspects of the experience as it is shaped by the individual characteristics of the participants in interaction within a specific context. Intensive examination of the experiences of these three student teaching situations indicated that: (1) There is a lack of an articulated, agreed-upon knowledge base regarding either the context and process of teaching or the content and process of training of the student teacher; (2) Personal characteristics of the members of the student teaching triad are highly predictive of the interactions and evaluations which take place in the clinical experience; and (3) Craft knowledge and "common sense" are the basis of most on-the-scene decisions regarding specific experiences and behaviors. Conclusions drawn from findings, and implications for practitioners and researchers, are included in the report. (Author/JD)

A review of research on teacher decision making and planning outlines findings on teachers' judgments and classification of students, development of lesson plans, and decisions made while actively involved in instruction. Findings from a major study on student teaching are discussed as they apply to teacher decision making. Because the classroom experience is the student teacher's first exposure to instructional judgments, planning, and decision making, review of the study findings focused on the nature of that experience. Analysis was made of audiotaped conferences between cooperating teachers and their student teachers, individual interviews, and personal journals. Descriptions are given of supervisory conferences as well as the participants' perceptions of feedback; these perceptions were then compared to actual supervisory incidences. Findings indicated that student teachers participated little in supervisory conferences and took a minor role in instructional planning and decision making. Recommendations are made for teacher training programs to acquaint student teachers and their cooperating teahers with a variety of models for planning. (JD)

This report contains findings and discussion concerning the influence of contextual factors upon the student teaching experience. Introductory remarks explain the rationale for the study as well as the substance of other documents resulting from it. A section describing methodology reports that data for the study were collected from two sites: a large public university whose student teachers were assigned to mid-sized urban or small suburban school districts, and a large private university which worked with an urban school district. Demographic characteristics of the two settings (such as faculty composition, class size, etc.) are reviewed, and their possible relationship to several quantitative indicators are explored. Formal rules and regulations, published by participating teacher education institutions and school districts, to govern student teaching are presented and compared. Available data about informal organizational properties, such as reward and support systems for each participant role (student teacher, cooperating teacher, and university supervisor), are reviewed and discussed. Implications of the findings for practitioners and researchers in teacher education are included throughout the text. (JD)

A large-scale descriptive study of preservice clinical teacher education was conducted in 2 sites, involving 88 cooperating teachers, 93 student teachers, and 17 university supervisors. This report discusses the perspectives of the participants. Student teachers, cooperating teachers, and university supervisors are discussed in terms of personality characteristics, cognitive characteristics, and professional orientation. Changes in these characteristics and orientations are described, and outcomes of the experience are examined. Relationships among characteristics, change, and outcomes are noted. Results indicated that each of the participants experienced some change over the course of student teaching. Student teachers showed the most change, followed by the cooperating teachers, and then the university supervisors. All experienced some change in terms of their concerns; however, most of the change showed a decrease in concerns. Appendixes include samples of measurement instruments used in the study and tables displaying the data collected. (JD)

Classroom observation of 28 third-grade teachers illustrated the management and planning strategies that differentiate effective teachers from less effective teachers. Effective managers communicated a workable system of rules and procedures, monitored students carefully, and were consistent in treating inappropriate behavior. Less effective managers did not establish their credibility at the outset of the academic year and were unpredictable in both their feedback and discipline techniques. Discipline and organizational procedures were delineated during the first weeks of the school year by the more effective teachers. (LH)

Differences in management and organizational skills of effective and less effective classroom managers are presented. Findings are drawn from extensive observations of 28 third-grade teachers who were observed from the beginning of the school year. Findings suggest that teachers who are successful managers arrange to prevent problems from occurring and that the establishment of useful routines begins early in the year. (Authors)

This report summarizes the activities and outcomes of a planning project responsible for delineating and determining priorities of crucial, researchable issues in teacher education. The following considerations were made: (1) What does research and development suggest for the content of preservice, induction, and inservice teacher education? (2) What are the present perspectives on the design and delivery of teacher education? (3) What does present research and theory say about teachers and teacher educators as learners? (4) How do the various roles and various substantive and process areas work interactively to design, deliver, and assess teacher education? (5) How do social, political, economic, and cultural realities affect teacher education and how can theory and research address these realities? (6) What are present strategies, promises, and limitations of research for contributing to the design, development, and evaluation of teacher education? and (7) How can research knowledge and products be shared collaboratively and effectively with constituent groups and how can practical application to improve real-world teacher education practice be facilitated? (JD)

A study was conducted to determine the relationship between effective classroom management and the manner in which teachers assign and hold students responsible for written work in junior high schools. Seven more effective and seven less effective teachers were studied, and a summary of each teacher's accountability systems was written. Based on these summaries, the teachers were sorted into three groups: those who were consistently successful in maintaining high levels of student responsibility for their work, those who were partly successful, and those who were ineffective. The findings revealed that the more effective managers (1) were more clear and specific with format requirements for written work, (2) had more consistent and efficient procedures for communicating assignments, (3) had more systematic procedures for regularly supervising and encouraging students as they worked, (4) stressed careful and consistent checking and turning in of classroom and homework assignments, and (5) were more consistent in the use and manner of feedback to students about assignments. The results suggest a definite positive relationship between comprehensive accountability systems for written work and effective classroom management. (Summaries of two teacher accountability systems are appended.) (HTH)

Teachers in low socioeconomic status minority schools face some special problems in establishing productive learning climates within their classrooms. The beginning of the school year can be crucial to teaching success in these schools. Case studies are presented of three different teachers teaching in a single low socioeconomic, minority junior high. Comparison is made of classroom activities, organizational strategies, and student behavior in the classrooms of three teachers of varying managerial effectiveness. Concrete illustrations are provided of some beginning-of-school teaching strategies which appear to work in such a setting. The teachers were observed in the opening days of school and six times throughout the year. It was concluded from these observations that what teachers do to establish a productive classroom climate and to orient students in the first few days of school is an important determinant of classroom management and teaching success in junior high school. However, without continuing, consistent enforcement of the rules and behavior standards set in the first days, a productive classroom climate may deteriorate rapidly. (JD)

Considerable research has been done relating measures of teacher personality or attitudes to classroom behaviors, pupil achievement, and pupil attitudes. The major purpose of these studies has been to identify patterns of classroom behaviors, attitudes, concerns, and conceptual processes which characterize teachers. Fifty-one junior high teachers participated in a study of classroom organization by completing a questionnaire on teacher beliefs. Eight dimensions of teacher attitudes concerning educational goals included: subject-matter emphasis; personal adjustment ideology; student autonomy vs. teacher direction; emotional disengagement; consideration of student viewpoint; classroom order; student challenge; and integrative learning. Teachers also answered questions concerning class organization, instructional emphases, behavior management, and teacher concerns. Biographical data was also collected. The effects of teacher control, social-emotional concerns, integrative learning, and role separation on classroom techniques were examined. Results indicate that teacher beliefs predict classroom processes and results, but not in a simple fashion. A composite of several beliefs (high role separation, high integrative learning, and low social-emotional concerns) seems to be related to certain processes and results (high academic on-task behavior, high achievement, and low student ratings of teachers). A profile of teacher beliefs could be useful in predicting teacher behavior and management effectiveness. (CJ)

The teacher's ability to manage the classroom has been consistently associated with pupil achievement and high pupil attitudes. Research has also shown that classes with high proportions of low ability students tend to be more difficult to manage because of the special needs of these students. This paper focuses on the strategies and behaviors apparent in classrooms of teachers who are teaching similar subject matter content to classes of differing ability levels. Two low ability classes were also examined to contrast teacher behaviors which are successful in initiating and maintaining instructional activities. Higher ability classes had teachers who: (1) described and presented objectives and materials more clearly; (2) provided content and reasonable work standards related to student interests and needs; (3) were consistent in dealing with student behavior; (4) were receptive to student input; (5) nurtured affective skills; and (6) maintained a task-oriented focus. Teachers in low ability classes were seen as adapting presentations to ability levels, reinforcing inattentive student behavior, and using more personal conferences to stop misbehaviors. Maintaining student cooperation and attention was harder in the low ability classes. A comparison of the two low achieving classes suggests that there are optimal ways of providing instruction to increase productive learning time. (CJ)

Questions and issues surrounding ethnographic research in educational settings are discussed from the viewpoint of the research manager responsible for directing large-scale research projects. The parts of an ethnographic study include: (1) conceptualizing the research project and determining if ethnographic methods are called for; (2) recruiting and training ethnographers (i.e., field workers); (3) negotiating ethnographers' presence on-site; (4) maintaining communication and coordination between the ethnographer, site personnel, and researcher; (5) developing formats for data recording and processing; (6) determining strategies to reduce the volume of data so that meaning and richness are not lost; and (7) interpreting and relating the qualitative data effectively. Ethnography is a very important research methodology, but it is no easy out for those who would like to avoid specifying research questions and research designs in advance. Even when well thought out and well managed, ethnographic studies can be complex, frustrating, and expensive. (RL)

This research report examines various teacher and student behaviors and their effects on academic achievement. Pupil achievement levels were assessed before and after observing and recording teacher and student behaviors occurring in the classroom. Correlational data was collected from these classroom observations and program evaluations. The first half of the report detailed research limitations, cognitive and affective aspects of learning, socioeconomic status as a predictor of achievement, teacher functions, and a conceptual model for examining pupil experience. The second half interpreted the research results. Factors having a positive correlation to student achievement were time, student participation and cooperation, direct teaching methods, praise, teacher use of evaluative feedback, establishment and implementation of reasonable conduct rules, clarity, and small group instruction. Among the negative achievement factors were indirect teaching methods, belittlement of pupils, peer pressure control, and unsupervised individual and small group work. Final conclusions, references, and tables follow the report. (CJ)

The behavior of junior high school students and teachers in English and mathematics classes was observed from November through April in an attempt to identify the relationship between teacher and student behavior, compare behaviors in the two different classes, and note changes in behavior over this period. Some fluctuation was observed in task orientation, attention, student initiated comments and social contacts. Small variations in behavior were observed in comparing English and mathematics classes. Descriptions of thirty specific behaviors observed over this period are provided and results are presented in both tabular and graphic form. An analysis of the data is presented. (JD)

This report contains a complete record of the methodology and instrumentation of the Junior High Classroom Organization Study. The purpose of the study was to delineate specific effective teacher behaviors. Included in this report are a description of the selection and training of observers, and guidelines for writing narrative descriptions, coding observations, rating student engagement time, and noting time intervals on the narrative record. Sample forms for these procedures are presented. Samples are also given of data collection instruments used throughout the year-long observation period, including questionnaires sent to participating teachers, resulting feedback to teachers, and data analysis instruments. (JD)

This report presents an overview of the history of the Junior High Classroom Organization Study, designed to answer questions concerning effective instruction in junior high school English and mathematics classes. Nineteen trained observers were sent to 52 classrooms in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District. Observers kept written records of classroom events, student concentration/interest ratings, teacher competency ratings, and time logs. Other data used in this report include student ratings of teachers, achievement tests, and teacher interviews and questionnaires. Focusing on classroom organization and management of time, materials, and student teacher contact, the study presented data on specific teacher behavior that produced greater 1) student concentration, 2) exposure to content, and 3) achievement. Data analysis, reference notes, and appendices follow the report. (CJ)

A study was conducted to determine (1) if teachers treated differing ability reading groups within their classes differently, (2) if teacher behaviors affected mean group achievement, and (3) if so, if that effect was similar for both high and low achieving reading groups. The study involved 14 classes, 39 reading groups, and 277 students. The number of reading groups in each class varied from two to four, and the number of students in each reading group varied from four to thirteen. Classroom observers recorded academic interactions between teacher and student that were initiated by the teacher. The results showed that teachers used more nonvolunteer selection, preselection, and volunteer selection in lower ability reading groups than in higher ability groups. In addition, even though students in lower ability groups were reading on a lower level and answering more questions incorrectly than their peers in higher achieving groups, teachers praised them more often. Overall, teachers appeared to accommodate their behavior to the ability level of the reading group; however no significant relationship was found between teacher behaviors and student achievement. (FL)

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 observers' summary descriptions are used to capture the salient characteristics and the overall tone of teacher behavior and classroom environment. High achievement-high attitude classes were characterized by good organization, a high proportion of time in instructional activity, and task-orientation. Low achievement-low attitude classes were chaotic, unstructured classrooms with less task-orientation. The descriptive summaries suggest that there is a distinct relationship between good classroom management (planning and organization of activities) and student learning and behavior. (JD)

The first paper in this collection of symposium papers presents the results of a survey of nearly 800 educational institutions and provides information on institutional characteristics, institutions engaged in teacher education evaluation, scope of data collected, methods of data collection, relationship between size of program and method of data collection, perceived value of teacher education evaluation, perceived needs in conducting teacher education evaluation, and reported budget for evaluation. In the second paper, a discussion is given on the broad spectrum of evaluation and "don'ts" for program evaluation. The third paper offers suggestions for planning, developing, implementing, and operating an evaluation program. Ten design characteristics which should be considered for developing an evaluation program are described in the fourth paper. The fifth paper presents ways to modify costs of program evaluation and suggestions for taking advantage of existing resources. The concluding paper addresses the future of teacher education evaluation. Brief summaries report on interactions in small discussion groups at the symposium at which these papers were presented. The concluding portion of the monograph is an summary from a representative of the National Institute of Education. (JD)

Descriptions are given of recent dissemination and collaboration efforts of the Classroom Organization and Effective Teaching (COET) Project, which is a program of the University of Texas (Austin) Research and Development Center for Teacher Education. A brief review of COET research findings is provided, and materials and activities that can be used directly in teacher inservice activities are offered. The first section consists of an overview of the COET Project's classroom management studies, including a current experimental study of 41 elementary classes in a newly desegregated setting. The second section presents some general recommendations for organizing research-based workshops on classroom management based on the COET Project experiences. In the third section, materials and guidelines for teacher workshop activities on classroom management and organization are offered, along with directions for conducting each activity. The workshop activities include: (1) introducing COET studies of classroom management; (2) evaluating classroom arrangements; (3) discussing guidelines for classroom rules and procedures; (4) small group discussion of procedural problems; (5) sharing rules, rewards, and penalties; (6) case studies of teaching procedures; (7) videotaping of the first day of school; (8) planning activities for the first day of school; (9) discussing guidelines for managing student behavior; (10) small group problem discussions; (11) introducing guidelines for maintaining student accountability; and (12) sharing accountability procedures. Appended are copies of handouts to be used with the suggested activities and a compilation of evaluations obtained from different COET Project presentations and workshops. (JD)

The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) for staff development is an empirically-based conceptual framework which outlines the developmental process that individuals experience as they implement a new innovation. The model is based on the assumption that, when persons responsible for implementing change via inservice programs have relevant information about the people experiencing the process, they are better able to provide appropriate and effective support. In diagnosing the individual needs of participants in an educational innovation, two critical concepts are used: the stages of concerns teachers have about the innovation (awareness, informational, personal, management, consequence, collaboration, and refocusing), and the level at which they actually use the innovation in their classrooms. Another concept deemed important in the CBAM focuses upon the innovation itself and the changes it may undergo while being implemented. Interventions possible through the planning of staff development and through the detection of individual needs are also described. A discussion is given of the way in which the CBAM model may be successfully applied in developing an inservice program. (JD)

Ethnography as a classroom observation method addresses itself to the situations, events, patterns, and contexts that exist in a classroom at a given time. A priori categorical observation and evaluation systems measure what the system is designed to "see," and may fail to record anomolies and salient events that affect teaching and learning in this one classroom. Through an ethnographic method, "clinical descriptions" of a classroom can be obtained and used for feedback. The intelligent, trained observer, in collaboration with the teacher committed to self-evaluation, can put ethnographic materials to immediate use in dealing with specific and unique situations. The clinical use of the ethnographic method, in conjunction with observers who have knowledge of the roles of supervisor, researcher, and teacher-colleague, seems to be effective in the objective observation of classrooms, in determining the needs of individual teachers, and in providing feedback for teacher improvement. (Author/JD)

The Classroom Organization Study, conducted in Austin, Texas, was designed to answer some very specific questions about establishing and maintaining classroom organization in low socioeconomic status elementary schools that results in greater student time on task, exposure to content, and achievement. The ultimate purpose of the study was to produce knowledge of specific teacher behaviors that produce effective management of time, instructional materials, contacts between the teacher and students, student participation in classroom activities, and the external constraints imposed on teachers. This report details the history of the study, the training course received by observers, and data collection activities, and summarizes preliminary findings from the study. More effective organizers appeared to: (1) have thought in advance about rules and procedures necessary and to have established them before problems arose; (2) be able to plan activities and procedures with a student's perspective; and (3) introduce independent work gradually. The instruments used by the observers are reproduced in their entirety. The study, from its inception to completion, covered a time period from the school year of 1976-77 to the end of school in the spring of 1978. (JD)

This study compares classroom management behaviors of two groups: beginning teachers and teachers with one year of teaching experience. It also examines differences in the ability of beginning teachers and second-year teachers to incorporate classroom management training in the establishment and maintenance of learning environments. The analysis focuses on a subsample of 29 teachers (11 beginning and 18 second-year) participating in the Junior High Management Improvement Study. Participants studied a manual, attended two workshops at the beginning of the year, and were observed periodically to assess training effects and student and teacher behaviors. Teachers were interviewed at the end of the year, and completed questionnaires regarding their use of the training materials. Results indicated that though there were treatment effects for second-year teachers, most beginning teachers were not able to implement most of the management recommendations. Second-year teachers used good classroom management strategies more consistently and were more successful in maintaining student engagement. Beginning teachers' inability to use the recommended behaviors appeared to be related to their lack of experience and understanding of classroom processes, rather than lack of attention to training materials. (Author/JD)

This report focuses on the issue of how constraints of the school environment and teachers' beliefs about teaching influence classroom performance. Case studies of three teachers in two schools (one in a rural, the other in an urban district) are presented. Objective characteristics of the school settings (e.g., patterns of material and physical resource distribution) are described in detail. The classrooms of the teachers, and their explanations and justifications of their practices, are then examined. The report concludes by summarizing the patterns of resource distribution operating in the two schools and districts and examining teachers' beliefs about teaching as a form of "commitments" to different definitions of teachers. Commitments are then explained in terms of the interaction of organizational control patterns and teachers' strategies of adaptation to organizational settings. The central theme of the analysis is that teachers' classroom performances are not shaped by the independent influences of contextual constraints and beliefs and intentions, but are instead shaped by the interaction of beliefs and constraints. (Author)

This study examined how students perceived and responded to academic task structures in six junior high school classes. Two classes in mathematics, science, and English were observed for six weeks in order to identify how teachers organized and conducted activities and academic work. In each class, samples of student work were examined and student progress was tracked. Also, from five to seven students in each class were interviewed. Results indicated varying degrees of student understanding of the task systems. For the most part, students regarded understanding and good performance as important, rather than just completion of assignments. Variations in participation rates, performance levels, and other responses to academic tasks are described. (Author)

This report (a product of the Teacher Beliefs Study) examines several different frameworks for conceptualizing and studying teachers' goals and their relationship to classroom practices. The report begins with an examination of the manner in which goals have been conceptualized by different research programs in the field of teacher thinking research. A case study is then presented of one teacher's classroom and her goal statements and explanations for her actions (drawn from classroom observations, loosely structured interviews and stimulated recall interviews). The report then describes how the evidence in the case study might be usefully conceptualized in terms of two current models of cognitive processes (script- and schema-theory). Conceptual and methodological difficulties entailed in using such models are then raised, and the report concludes by presenting an alternative framework for conceptualizing the linkages between teachers accounts of their goals and their actions in the classroom. (Author)

This study reports on the characteristics of 28 tenured teacher educators in a department of curriculum and instruction. Two focused interviews were conducted with each participant in the spring of 1980 and the spring of 1981. Six research areas were investigated: (1) personal characteristics, family background including socioeconomic status, pre-collegiate educational experience, and perceived alternate career patterns both at entry to teacher education and at the present time; (2) undergraduate and graduate background; pre-collegiate teaching experience; and professional involvement as indicated by convention attendance, journal use, and collegial input; (3) perceived definition of a teacher educator, self-perceived role as a teacher educator, personal philosophy of teacher education, and ability or appropriateness of teacher educator's role; (4) teaching activities, scholarly contributions in research and publication, and local and national service to the profession; (5) personal, campus, and off-campus influences; and (6) perceived values of peers' activities, goals and desires, and most- and least-liked aspects of the teacher educator's role. Quantitative and qualitative data (quotations from individual interiews) are presented, and reflections are offered on significant trends within the data. (JD)

An overview is presented of research studies that reflect the realities that exist in elementary and secondary public education. Explorations of school culture cite behavioral and programmatic regularities that make up the school culture and the importance of school principals' roles. Focusing on the teachers and the ways things actually get done in the course of a day, week, or year, some studies reveal dilemmas that teachers face when attempting to fit into accepted school routines. Studies are also cited on how school organization influences the life and activities of school personnel. Outlines are given of ethnographic school improvement studies dealing with: (1) implementing organizational innovations; (2) open education and the American school; (3) measuring the implementation of differentiated staffing; (4) the dynamics of educational change (involving four different studies); (5) implementing organizational changes in the elementary grades; (6) teachers vs. technocrats; (7) innovative organization; (8) federal programs supporting educational change; and (9) secondary schools and their effects on children. Findings from research studies concerning teachers and teaching, individual development, the role of the principal, and the process of school improvement are also synthesized. A summary of the research findings presents statements on necessary conditions for school improvement. (JD)

A review is presented of research on student teaching. This review focuses on student teaching as the experience of a basic triad (student teacher, cooperating teacher, and university supervisor) embedded in several overlapping contexts. In the first section, literature is reviewed that deals with demographic characteristics, teacher concerns, self-concept and self-esteem, empathy, interest in people, scholastic aptitude, cognitive levels of processing, and flexibility and creativity of student teachers, cooperating teachers, and university supervisors. In the second section, general constraints determining who may fill each of the roles in the triad are examined. This section focuses on preparatory experiences, training, and selection of student teachers, university supervisors, and cooperating teachers. Literature on the roles and functions of cooperating teachers and university supervisors is examined along with research studies about the cooperating teacher's role in socializing the student teacher and influencing the development of teacher behaviors. In the closing section, contextual influences impinging upon and coloring the student teaching experience are reviewed. This section includes some consideration of the university or teacher training institution together with the public schools involved in student teaching. Literature about links of home and parents to the schools, as a general source of influence upon student teaching, are also examined. Throughout the review, specific topics in need of research are highlighted, and broad issues, such as key methodological problems and promising areas of inquiry, are discussed. Lists of 22 reference notes and 120 references are included. (JD)

An investigation identified environmental factors influencing the activities of university-based teacher educators and described the interaction effect of environmental factors and selected faculty roles. Environmental factors examined were personal influences, the departmental promotion and salary committee, central university administration, national professional organizations, federal and state governments, accrediting and certification agencies, and public schools. The interaction effect of these factors was explored as they influenced teacher educators in two different faculty roles--rank and teaching assignment (campus vs. field based). Interviews were conducted with 7 assistant professors, ll associate professors, and 4 full professors. Seven of these teacher educators were exclusively campus-based faculty members, 4 were public-school-based, and 11 had mixed responsibilities. The perceived influence of the departmental promotion and salary committee declined across ranks. While assistants indicated this factor to be one exerting rather high pressure, it was deemed less important by associate and full professors. Personal influence was high across all ranks, particularly as it reflected self-esteem. Federal and state government influence was perceived as an important factor by all ranks because government agencies awarded research grants and established public school policies. The perceived influence of national professional networks increased with rank. Influence from the university, beyond the department, was not apparent among assistant professors and was apparent to the greatest degree in associate professors. Faculty working mainly in the field did not see accrediting and certification agencies or government agencies as strong influences, while the reverse was true of campus-based faculty. (JD)