This article reports on a large scale implementation of personal response units in three introductory science courses at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. An online survey of students was conducted to gather their perceptions on the uses of the devices, triangulated by participant observation of the classes and email interviews with the…

This qualitative study provides insight into the first-year university experiences of students in a problem-based learning context an area that has received little attention in the literature. Data collection consisted of one-on-one interviews with students throughout their first year and of participant observation of students in the classroom at…

In this article, the authors explore the personal, familial, and academic stakes of Native language loss for youth, drawing on narrative data from the Native Language Shift and Retention Project, a five year (2001-06), federally funded study of the nature and impacts of Native language shift and retention on American Indian students' language…

A study conducted at a primary school in Birmingham, England, considered teachers', college tutors', parents', and pupils' perceptions of the way in which a group of 4-year-old children became incorporated into two reception classes. Study methodology included teacher and researcher observations and the videotaping and photographing of six types…

This paper explores technical questions of ethnographic study and uses as an example an actual episode observing college students and the subsequent decisions and steps taken to produce a written account. In particular, the paper seeks to address the question of researcher subjectivity by examining some issues relating to the practice of…

This book describes a year-long participant-observer case study of the professorship as a profession. Following an introductory chapter, each chapter examines one aspect of the professor's occupation by recounting the specific experiences of the author, a sociology professor at Wright State University (Ohio). Chapter 2 looks at the department as…

The Logo Action Research Collaborative is creating a professional development program in the Newton (Massachusetts) schools which is based on action research and designed to support teachers and improve the use of Logo computer-assisted instruction in their classrooms. During the 1 year workshop, teachers work collaboratively on Logo programming…

The ways in which principal belief systems develop in relation to superintendent role expectations for principals are described in this paper. Methodology included a literature review and participant observation during a 6-month field study to generate grounded theory. Findings indicate that superintendents' communication of role expectations to…

The primary purpose of this study was to describe the linguistic behavior exhibited by a female subject (age 2 years, 4 months) during naturally occurring social interaction with children of different ages. Verbal and nonverbal behavior were studied; of additional interest were variables influencing the emergence of linguistic behavior. Data were…

This paper represents an initial exploration of researcher-informant relationships which develop when naturalistic researchers spend long periods of time watching and recording the details of classroom activity for which a teacher has basic responsibility. The goals of this paper are to present a discussion of the significance of…

This paper describes data gathering and analytic procedures, and then presents examples regarding how each fits into the naturalistic research model. From the interactionist perspective, called symbolic interactionism, meaning is of central importance. Naturalistic inquiry is a way of doing social science research which provides the methodological…

Proposes a grounded typology of organizational leadership behavior based on a qualitative analysis of a Residence Life Program at a major midwestern university. Identifies four major patterns of leadership (positional, political, administrative, and relational) and explores the ways in which the patterns develop and change. (PD)

If students are to think historically, then teachers must think historically. One place where future history teachers might gain such cognitive practice is in history courses designed to focus on the ideas and methods of historians. A study focused on teaching future history teachers how to think about history. A course, "Philosophy and…

Grouping of students for instruction is an organizational pattern that is commonplace in literacy instruction in classrooms. A debate exists, however, about whether instruction is more effective when groups are heterogeneous or homogeneous with regard to student ability. A study aimed to provide a description of the grouping practices of New…

Argues that the ethnographic interview gives teachers an insider's understanding of an aspect of a foreign culture and endows them with the insight to interpret the insider account from an observer's perspective. The article describes materials developed for inservice training and a pilot course that tested them with Irish teachers preparing to…