Natural Classroom Setting Research Articles

Teachers’ Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Patterns as a Function of Teacher Race, Student Gender, and Student Race

Teachers’ verbal and nonverbal behaviors were examined in the natural classroom setting to assess differences based on sex of child, race of child, and race of teacher. The subjects were 16 (8 black and 8 white) female first grade teachers in an urban public elementary school system. All teachers’ classrooms contained students of both races with at least a 1 to 3 ratio of one race to the other. Trained observers recorded verbal and nonverbal behavior for each instance of teacher behavior directed toward individual children in each classroom. The results indicated that white teachers directed more verbal praise and criticism and nonverbal praise toward males and more nonverbal criticism toward black males.

Teachers' Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Patterns as a Function of Teacher Race, Student Gender, and Student Race

Teachers’ verbal and nonverbal behaviors were examined in the natural classroom setting to assess differences based on sex of child, race of child, and race of teacher. The subjects were 16 (8 black and 8 white) female first grade teachers in an urban public elementary school system. All teachers’ classrooms contained students of both races with at least a 1 to 3 ratio of one race to the other. Trained observers recorded verbal and nonverbal behavior for each instance of teacher behavior directed toward individual children in each classroom. The results indicated that white teachers directed more verbal praise and criticism and nonverbal praise toward males and more nonverbal criticism toward black males.

Researching Pupil Attending Behavior within Naturalistic Classroom Settings

The study investigated pupil visual attending behavior toward the teacher within naturalistic classroom settings. Eight teachers in traditional classroom settings were asked to select four pupils, subsequently labeled accepted, indifferent, concerned, and rejected. Both teacher lecturing behavior time and pupil visual attending behavior toward the teacher were recorded. Significant differences were found on pupil visual attending behavior between pupil categories, and a significant two‐way interaction was found for visual attending behavior with pupil sex and category as main effects. The importance of contextually designed studies of teacher‐pupil behavior exchange is discussed.

Perceptual and Environmental Determinants of Coughing

Unlike health-seeking behaviors and self-reported physical sensations, coughing is typically an immediate and observable response to the perception of a tickling or irritated throat. Several studies were conducted on coughing behavior in naturalistic classroom settings. The major findings include: (1) the larger the group, the more coughs per person;. (2) people are more likely to cough if they hear others cough; (3) the closer a person is to a cougher, the greater the probability that they will also emit a cough; (4) coughing varies as a function of external stimulus demands (i.e., when subjects viewed a movie that had previously been rated for its interest value every 30 seconds, subjects were more likely to cough during the uninteresting portions); and (5) high instructor evaluations were related to fewer coughs during lectures. Perceptual, physiological, and depth of processing issues as related to internal sensations arc discussed.

Behavioral comparisons of hyperactive and normally active children in natural settings

Matched pairs of hyperactive and normally active children were observed in six natural classroom settings and a number of specific behaviors continuously recorded. Both groups of children showed differences in behavior as a function of settings (selected to vary in amount of external stimulation and structure), but only certain settings differentiated hyperactive from control children. Hyperactive children displayed significantly more noise-vocalization and more disruptive and off-task behavior in the most frequently observed (low stimulation) classroom settings (e.g., seat work). Type of off-task behavior (out-of-seat or visually off-task) depended upon amount of classroom structure (i.e., teacher- vs. self-directed). Results were discussed in terms of their implications for identification and treatment of hyperactive children through the modification of the antecedent conditions of stimulation and structure.

Observer Agreement and Reliabilities of Classroom Observational Measures

There appears to be a growing interest in the study of process variables in naturalistic classroom settings. Numerous observation systems have been developed and used in such investigations (Simon & Boyer, 1974). However, there is a corresponding paucity of published research that documents relationships between teaching-learning processes and educationally relevant pupil outcomes (Dunkin & Biddle, 1974; Heath & Nielson, 1974; Rosenshine, 1971; Smith, 1971; Soar, 1972). A reason for many insignificant findings may be that investigators have inadequately controlled or accounted for a number of sources of variance associated with observational studies (McGaw, Wardrop, & Bunda, 1972). The purpose of this paper is to clarify a number of common methodological errors made in observational studies and then to suggest practical means of minimizing such errors. Of primary concern are those errors introduced by observers and investigators that can limit reliabilities of observational measures. Prevalent confusion concerning the reliabilities of observational measures can be traced to the failure to separate two statistically related

The effect of filmed modeling on cooperative play in disadvantaged preschoolers.

In a series of three studies wer investigated the effect of filmed modeling on cooperative play in disadvantaged preschoolers. These studies were conducted both in a natural (classroom) setting and in a laboratory setting. We were unable to demonstrate a reliable modeling effect with these preschoolers even when an extensive descriptive verbal component was added to the modeling film. In a fourth study we showed that the identical treatment did lead to modeling in middleclass preschoolers but that the content of the extensive verbal component was not related to the effect. These results are discussed in terms of appropriate control procedures for this type of study, the role of an audio component in modeling films, and the implications of the lack of filmed modeling effects for the teaching of disadvantaged preschoolers.

Delay-retention effect in natural classroom settings.

Delay-retention effect in natural classroom settings.