The Application of Instructional Reform in Classrooms: Benchmarking Effective Teacher Behavior.

This paper describes the Classroom Observation Form (COF), which was used to evaluate elementary and secondary school gifted education programs in Virginia and South Carolina. The study examined the nature of classroom practice and developed a database on the nature of classroom practice in multiple settings serving high ability learners across different models at different levels of the system. It investigated differences in instructional behaviors seen in different organizational arrangements. Researchers collected data on 157 classrooms with trained observers using the COF. The COF has 40 items grouped into nine categories of behavior. Data analysis indicated that teaching gifted students employed fewer higher level strategies than anticipated, given the nature of teacher training emphases at state and national levels. While teachers appeared strong in many categories of good teaching, they fell short in all categories that examined differentiation practices. Individualizing for differences within the gifted population, critical thinking and problem solving were found to be underutilized in most classrooms. Core teaching behaviors such as lesson planning and clarity in providing directions were more routinely observed. Curriculum reform elements were uneven, with a greater prevalence of concept teaching than other behaviors. (Contains 15 references.) (SM)