Observed Classroom Behavior Research Articles

Relationships between Temperament and Classroom Behavior, Teacher Attitudes, and Academic Achievement

This paper investigates the concurrent validity of the Teacher Form of the Temperament Assessment Battery. This questionnaire was designed to measure activity level, adaptability, approach/withdrawal, emotional intensity, distractibility, and persistence in children 3 to 7 years of age. In study 1, significant correlations were obtained between several temperament dimensions and observed classroom behavior among first-grade children. Study 2 focused on the relationships between teacher attitudes (attachment, indifference, concern, rejection) and temperament variables. Children nominated for three of the four attitude groups were found to be differentiated from their nonnominated peers by temperament ratings. Finally, correlations between achievement and temperament variables were obtained in study 3.

Relationships of race and socioeconomic status to classroom behavior, academic achievement, and referral for special education

A study was conducted to identify the relationships of race and socioeconomic status (SES) to observed classroom behavior, academic achievement, and special education referral. A sample of 109 fourth-grade boys from varying racial (Anglo, black, and Hispanic) and SES backgrounds was selected and observed systematically on four occasions for 12 behaviors. Data also were collected on academic achievement and special education referral. Multivariate analyses indicated no race-related differences in observed behavior and only one SES-related difference. Black and Hispanic children did not differ reliably, but both were lower than Anglo children in achievement. A non-stepwise discriminant function analysis utilizing race, SES, and observational data as predictors of referral for special education failed to make statistically reliable predictions. The relative unimportance of race and SES as predictors challenges the validity of alleged “institutional racism” in referrals for special education.

Implications of positive and negative sociometric status for assessing the social competence of young children

Positive and negative sociometric status were examined with reference to observed classroom behavior and performance on two laboratory measures of social skills: decoding emotion from facial expression and referential communication. Based on a sample of 38 preschool children, results indicated different patterns of correlations for liked (positive nomination) and disliked (negative nomination) scores. High-liked children were observed to spend more time in positive interaction with peers and less time in solitary play or alone with an adult. High-disliked children scored less well on both laboratory measures. Using median splits on the liked and disliked dimensions, results indicated that children who were rated by their peers as Low-Liked/High-Disliked were the most deviant with respect to both classroom behaviors and task scores. The importance of obtaining both positive and negative nominations in investigations of social competence is stressed. Implications of the results for the identification of preschool children with social problems and the planning of intervention strategies for these children are discussed.

An experimentally designed comparison of four intensities of school-based prevention programs for adolescents with adjustment problems

The effects of four different intensities of prevention programs (including no program at all) were compared in a field setting. Forty urban seventh graders with school adjustment problems were randomly assigned to one of three prevention programs or to a no program group. Half of the students participated for one hour on two mornings per week throughout the school year; the other half of the students participated in the afternoons. The results showed that program intensity had a significant effect upon grades and observed classroom behavior in the morning programs. No such effect occurred in the afternoon programs. The effects in the morning were preventive (versus rehabilitative) in nature. Only the most intense program, which included parent contact, had a greater effect than no program at all. The implications of these results for school-based interventions are discussed.

Classroom observation code for hyperactive children: a replication of validity.

This study was designed to replicate the validity of a modified State University of New York at Stony Brook classroom observation code to distinguish normal children from children evaluated as hyperactive by their teachers. All previously obtained code results were cross-validated: The code category cutoff scores clearly distinguished hyperactive from normal children; the combination of categories into dyads yielded better discrimination between hyperactive and normals than did single categories; the behavioral dyad of interference and off task was the most discriminating. Other findings pertinent to the evaluation of hyperactive children were replicated. Namely, age was found to be inversely related to level of observed classroom behavior, and hyperactive children had greater day-to-day within-subject variability than did normals. In addition, no observer effect on the children's behavior was found. This replication gives strong support to the reliability and discriminative validity of the code and documents its utility in studies of hyperactive children.

Masculinity?Femininity in children's self-concepts: The relationship to teachers' judgments of social adjustment and academic ability, classroom behaviors, and popularity

This study explored the response of peers and teachers to children who differed in the extent to which their self-concepts included traits which children view as masculine or feminine. It was hypothesized that teachers would judge relatively more masculine children to be inferior in (1) academic ability and (2) social adjustment compared to more feminine children, and that these relationships would be independent of IQ. Relationships between masculine—feminine self-concept and observable classroom behaviors were examined, particularly the impact of classroom behavior on teachers' evaluations of masucline versus feminine children. Finally, the relationship between masculine—feminine self-concept and popularity was studied. Subjects were 64 middle-class fourth and fifth graders. For boys, the hypotheses were supported for evaluations made by seven women teachers. Evaluations made by one man teacher did not support the hypotheses. Neither hypothesis was supported for girls. Among boys, relative masculinity was associated with a distinctive pattern of classroom behavior, and this statistically accounted for women teachers' negative evaluations of the more masculine boys. For boys, the relationship between popularity and masculine—feminine self-concept differed significantly between classroom settings; while for girls there were no significant relationships. Methodological issues, sex differences in the importance of sex-typing of self-concept, teacher sex differences, and implications for mental health are discussed.

Special class placement for conduct problem children.

Conduct problem first graders were randomly assigned to either a special class of 8 children ( N=23) or regular classes ( N=16). Treatment children attended special classes for 8 months and then returned to regular classes. No significant differences between groups existed at referral. Both groups improved significantly on a teacher rating scale and observed classroom behavior. The treatment group scored significantly higher than controls on reading achievement 1 month after returning to regular classes. Alternative models of intervention are discussed.

5: Evaluation of Classroom Instruction

suggest modifications for local evaluation of instruction. Four potential uses of these instruments are described and examples are given of each: assessing variability in classroom behavior, assessing whether the teacher's performance agrees with specified criteria, describing classroom interaction, and determining relationships between observed classroom behavior and outcome measures. Finally, several difficulties in the use of observational instruments and in the interpretation of the results are noted. Major emphasis is given to the evaluation of instruction within specific curriculum projects, that is, programs in which the instructional materials were developed by special groups such as the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. The term curriculum refers to the instructional materials and the suggestions for their use; the term instruction or instructional program refers to the interaction among teachers and students as the materials are used.

The Reliability of Observations of Teachers’ Classroom Behavior

The Teacher Practices Observation Record (TPOR) is an instrument for measuring classroom behavior by systematic observation. It attempts to measure the agree ment-disagreement of teachers' observed classroom behavior with educational prac tices advocated by John Dewey in his philosophy of experimentalism. In addition to presenting this in strument and briefly describing its development, the authors will report the reliability data obtained by using it in a study of observations of filmed teaching episodes. The data reported on the TPOR will be placed in the context of the general problem of study ing reliability, and will be used to demonstrate a new design for estimating the reliability of such observational measurements.

Feedback in Classrooms

THE EFFORTS described in this paper grew out of an attempt to help prospective teachers study and understand inter-action in classrooms, and to help them become more aware of pupil behavior in class rooms, and more sensitive to its meaning for teach ers. It was felt that this could best be done by studying the teaching-learning process in actual classrooms. A method was developed, therefore , for describing, analyzing and interpreting observed classroom behavior. *