Paul F. Cook

UNIVERSITY CLASS SIZE: Is Smaller Better?

This study investigates the relationship between class size and achievement at the college level. Recent meta-analyses have found a strong relationship between class size and student achievement, but few of the studies examined class size larger than 40 or university-age populations. This analysis examines a universitys testing-center data-archives representing 305 sections from 24 different courses. Section sizes ranged from 13 to 1,006. A total of 16,230 test scores were analyzed. The results of this investigation reveal that at the college level, class size may be less important an influence on student achievement than some educators have thought.

Better Interviews: The Effects of Supervisor Training on Listening and Collaborative Skills.

AbstractThis study investigated the effects of training on the interpersonal skills of supervisors during interviews with teachers. We studied skills that included listening to teachers and collaborating with them in planning for instructional improvement. The subjects consisted of 4 building principals (3 males and 1 female), including 3 elementary principals and 1 middle school principal. Principals were trained in interpersonal skills using two modules of the Supervision in Education program: Effective Listening and Improving Teacher Effectiveness: The Teacher Improvement Plan. For this study we used a single-case design with four concurrent replications. We made four measures (pretraining, posttraining, extended history, and postretraining) of quality of talk time for principals and the teachers, using the Allred Interaction Analysis (AIA) teamed with a computer-assisted observation device. Ratings of the use of key actions taught in training also were made four times from videotaped interviews, and a...

Overcoming Parental Resistance to Change in a Professional Development School.

Abstract In this study, the authors explored the role that parents can play as agents of school reform and educational restructuring. Specifically, they traced the role of two parents who participated in designing and implementing an experimental, field based teacher preparation program at one professional development school in a university-school partnership. This investigation illuminated many of the tensions experienced by parents as they passed through the four stages of involvement in promoting school change and reforming teacher education reported in this study. The four stages are conceptualized into themes that included: (1) excluding breeds suspicion, (2) holding our ground, (3) saying the same thing, and (4) establishing a new culture of advocacy and trust. The implications of these themes for involving parents in future restructing efforts within professional development schools are discussed.

The Need for Interpersonal Skill Training and Supervision.

Principals can improve their skills in supervision by developing an organizational climate around Ouchis Theory Z. In showing how, the authors explain behavior modeling and illustrate how a typical session can improve classroom instruction.

Instructor's Plan: A Computer-Based System for Lesson Planning.

SummaryInstructor’s Plan is a computer-based expert system designed to help teachers quickly select and author effective lessons. It is a smart productivity tool aimed at helping teachers deal with the many complex instructional design decisions they frequently face. Its knowledge base was crafted from scholarly literature and expert experience. After testing IP for about two years, we have learned that teachers find IP very easy to learn to use and they report that it reduces planning time. Teachers who use the program believe its main strength is improving the quality of their lesson disign.