This study examined the contention that teacher instruction in the "correct use" of classroom equipment, as in the Montessori training method, inhibits a child's ability to generate other uses for that same equipment. Subjects were 31 matched pairs of four- and five-year-olds from two Montessori preschools and two traditional nursery…

Survey results show that planning and constant vigilance are the price of effective teaching. Effective classroom management involves awareness, good organizational skills, preparation, letting students know what is expected of them and following through, and the ability to diagnose student problems. (CT)

Research indicates that the achievement difference favoring girls over boys typically found in American schools results from an interaction between the role of the student and the sex role expectations applied to boys and girls in our society. Teachers, both male and female, play a well-defined teacher role which complements the student role as…

An investigation concerned with teacher styles and strategies for coping with problem students suggests that role definition may not be as important a teacher variable as originally postulated. Thirty-seven experienced elementary school teachers were observed to determine overall management skill level and actual response to problem behavior.…

Reviews research in the areas of classroom organization and management, delineating the principles underlying a comprehensive approach to these areas. (MP)

Research linking teacher behavior to student learning is making significant progress in developing a scientific basis for teacher education. (Author)

These two reaction papers provide a synthesis of the issues raised by the papers presented in this issue of the "Elementary School Journal." Each reaction paper approaches student variables from a different vantage point, and each brings a novel and imaginative perspective to the study of students in the classrooms. (MP)

Present and possible future process-outcome research is assessed, with emphasis on methodological considerations. Compilation of detailed normative data about classrooms, and explication and integration of process-process as well as process-outcome relations are suggested. Studies designed with particular contexts in mind rather than classroom…

Methods of achieving compromises between the classical laboratory experiment, and the constrictions affecting educational researchers conducting experiments to build upon correlational process-outcome data are suggested. Ecological validity is achieved through partnership relationships between researchers and the teachers implementing treatments,…

Several teacher motivation variables were examined for relationships to stategies teachers use for responding to problem students. During interviews, 98 elementary school teachers described general strategies to twelve types of problem students: (1) failure syndrome; (2) perfectionist; (3) underachiever; (4) low achiever; (5) hostile aggressive;…

Two primary lines of investigation are involved in this study of elementary school teacher effectiveness. The first focuses on individual differences in students and how these affect teacher expectations, attitudes, and behavior, and the process involved in the formation and change of expectations and attitudes. The overwhelming conclusion that…