David G. Ryans

A Study of Criterion Data (a Factor Analysis of Teacher Behaviors in the Elementary School

Question 1 has to do with job analysis or behavior analysis; Question 2 with the validity, reliability, and practicability of methods of obtaining criterion data; and Question 3 with the major dimensions of the criterion, i.e., should the criterion behavior be treated (a) in the composite, (b) as many specific behaviors, or perhaps (c) in terms of clusters of related behaviors, intermediate with regard to the two extreme positions. Each of these questions involves both rational and empirical considerations. The present study is primarily concerned with the third of the above-stated questions-the unior multi-dimensionality ot the criterion. It is concerned with the question as it relates to data based on assessments of teaching made by trained ob-

A Factor Analysis of Observed Teacher Behaviors in the Secondary School: A Study of Criterion Data

meaningful patterns of teacher behaviors could be identified among secondary school teachers. Essentially, the objective was an analysis of criterion data, those data consisting of assessments made by trained observers of twenty-five explicitly defined bipolar traits revealed in the classroom behaviors of teachers and their pupils. It was hypothesized that teacher behavior might be multidimensional-that a teacher might rate high in one area of classroom behavior, (e.g., sociable, or business-like, or tolerant), and not necessarily rate equally high in another area. A com-

A Study of the Extent of Association of Certain Professional and Personal Data with Judged Effectiveness of Teacher Behavior

The purpose of this study was to investigate certain factors or conditions that might be relat ed to effective teaching at the elementary school level and to estimate the extent to which meas ures of such conditions were associated with judg ments of teaching effectiveness made by trained observers. Various hypotheses may be advanced regard ing sets of conditions that either (1) operate as selective devices, or (2) tend to affect directly the typical behavior patterns of teachers. For example, differences in policies and practices among school systems might be expected to at tract certain kinds of teachers to specified sys tems to the exclusion of others. Or, teaching experience might reasonably be expected to leave its mark on a teacher, influencing directly her classroom performance. The Teacher Characteristics Study has attempt ed to test a number of such hypotheses. The re sults to be reported here have to do with?elemen tary teachers who had been classified, first, ac cording to effectiveness of classroom perform ance as judged by trained observers, and second, with respect to such professional and personal data as:

Some Correlates of Teacher Behavior

In other reports the writer has emphasized the relative nature of judgments of &dquo;effective&dquo; and &dquo;ineffective&dquo; teaching and, consequently, the dim probability of arriving at acceptable definitions which might be applied in identifying groups of generally &dquo;superior&dquo; and &dquo;poor&dquo; teachers. Instead of approaching the problems of teacher performance in such a fashion, therefore, attention of the Teacher Characteristics Study was directed at the observation and analysis of overt behaviors, or acts, of teachers in their classrooms, and determination of the patterns into which such behaviors seemed to fall.

An Analysis and Comparison of Certain Techniques for Weighting Criterion Data

differ systematically from the true criterion, and represent biased estimates of the true criterion behavior, the results of prediction research are of very doubtful value. Various aspects of criterion bias and criterion purification have been discussed by Cureton (4), Mosier (7), Toops (13, 14), Brogden and Taylor (2, 3), Bellows (i), Horst (6), Edgerton and Kolbe (5), Wherry (15), Richardson (8), and others. Brogden and Taylor, for example, classify criterion bias into four main categories: (a) criterion deficiency, (b) criterion contamination, (c) criterion scale unit bias, (d) and criterion

Investigations of Personal and Social Characteristics of Teachers

In line with the desire to bring before readers of this section accounts of major studies which are under way in the field of teacher education, David Ryans, well known for his continuing research on the qualifications of teachers, was invited to report on his recent work. Studies such as those described here represent fundamental research; they con tribute richly to our understanding of the teaching process as an expression of teacher personality, and subsequently to our ability to sense needs, define goals, and improve methods in the better prepara tion, selection, and guidance of teachers. Douglas E. Scates.

Some Validity Extension Data From Empirically Derived Predictors of Teacher Behavior

characteristics. One such question was: Will a scoring key derived with regard to a particular criterion measure maintain its effectiveness in estimating criterion performance when tested against a similar, but somewhat differently obtained, criterion measure? This is the problem, involving an attempt at validity extension, to which the presently reported research was addressed. More specifically, testing was undertaken of a number of hypotheses summarily described by the general hypothesis, &dquo;Teach-

What Can the Psychology of Learning Offer Education? A Review of Some Recent Opinions from Psychologists

ing by doing&dquo; may be seen as an application of Guthrie’s ideas, but Guthrie gives us only the general orientation to this approach, not the great body of detailed recommendations we would like to have as to how this approach might be implemented in particular situations. Similarly, Skinner2 and other reinforcement theorists point to the importance of the reinforcers that students do or don’t receive either for co-

Pupil Behavior: A Note on Comparisons in Classes Grouped According to Grade Level or Subject Matter and to Certain Characteristics of Teachers

In the first of the earlier reports’ classroom observation data were presented which strongly indicated: (1) among elementary-school classes, high positive relationships (correlations) between observers’ assessments of &dquo;productive pupil behavior&dquo; (e.g., assessments reflecting pupil alertness, participation, confidence, responsibility and self-control, initiating behavior, etc.) and observers’ assessments of previously identified patterns of teacher behavior reflecting &dquo;understanding, friendly class-

Unlocking for the Profession A Wealth of Educational Research

He then presented an exquisitely bound copy of the work to the person most directly responsible for this completely new edition, the Encyclopedia’s editor, Chester W. Harris, of the University of Wisconsin. Behind this simple exchange of courtesies lay uncounted hours of volunteer work by professional persons, all experts in their respective fields of specialization and in their understanding of research. Behind the immediate summarizing work of the 200 contributors is a vast network of one research