The purposes of this study were (I) to determine the relationship of teacher temperament to effectiveness in the classroom and (2) to determine the relationship of the teacher's temperament to the teacher's sex, to the grade level taught, to the area taught (special education or regular education), and to the subject taught. It was hypothesized that (I) there is no significant relationship between the teacher's temperament and his effectiveness in the classroom, (2) there is no significant relationship between the teacher's temperament and sex, (3) there is no significant relationship between the teacher's temperament and the grade level he teaches (elementary or secondary), (4) there is no significant relationship in the teacher's temperament and the area he teaches (special education or regular education), and (5) there is no significant relationship between the teacher's temperament and the subject he teaches.

The primary purpose of this study was to compare regular classroom instruction which used Guided Mental Imagery (GMI) to a non-GMI teaching method. This comparison was expected to yield data which would provide insights relating to the potential of GMI as a useful and effective instructional strategy. Quasi-experimental research methods were followed. The experimental design was a modified "post-test only control group design." Two-hundred-four students in naturally occurring in tact classes formed the experimental and control groups. All groups received instruction in identical science/health content. Two parallel post-tests were administered to all students. Post-test "A" was given immediately after instruction to measure learning acquisition. Post-test "B" was given four weeks later to measure retention of learning. Means for test scores were grouped according to treatment and sub-grouped by the variables: IQ, handedness, identified learning disability, and intellectual giftedness. T_ tests for differences between independent means were conducted. Students' acquisition of basic academic content, when instructed with GMI methodology, was found to differ significantly from students' acquisition of the same content with non-GMI instruction. No statistically significant differences based on instructional methodology were found for content retention. The investigator concluded that GMI instruction may increase learning. Although measures of retention did …

The impacts resulting from the integration of students with moderate-to-severe disabilities into a contemporary technology education program are described in this study. The research centered around questions that addressed impacts on students with disabilities, on regular students, on teachers, and on parents of students with disabilities. The study took place in a ninth-grade technology education class and involved two students with moderate-to-severe disabilities. One subject was a 15-year-old male student who was autistic, had a speech handicap, and was mildly retarded. The other student was a 17-year-old male who was emotionally disturbed and learning disabled. Data were collected through classroom observations, videotaped sessions, and interviews with teachers and parents. Notes taken during observations and from videotaped sessions were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Interviews were also transcribed. The transcripts were reviewed, and significant data were transferred to interview synopsis sheets for incorporation with the other findings. No major problems were found with the integration of the students with disabilities into the technology education program. The students with disabilities caused no discipline problems and were readily accepted by the regular students. However, because the students with disabilities were not actively involved in many of the activities of the class, much of their …

The problem of this study was to determine if the teachers of Algebra I rated highest and lowest according to the Texas Teacher Appraisal System differed significantly in a measure of achievement. The analyses indicated that there were significant differences in achievement between the classes taught by the highest and lowest ranked teachers.

The State of Texas implemented the No Pass-No Play Rule within House Bill 72 in the spring semester of 1985. The addition of this section to the state education code was a part of the state's efforts toward educational reform. The perceived rationale implied in House Bill 72 is that extracurricular activities can inspire student motivation and increase student achievement. The No Pass-No Play Rule seems to imply that there is a relationship between student achievement and extracurricular activities, and further implies that a student can be motivated to achieve by the desire to continue to participate in extracurricular activities. The problem of this study was a comparison of academic achievement for high school pupils involved in extracurricular activities and those who did not participate in extracurricular activities under the Texas No Pass-No Play Rule. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of extracurricular activities on the academic achievement of high school students, specifically looking at the years 1983 through 1986, when the No Pass-No Play Rule was implemented. This study was an ex post facto study with data obtained from a cooperating Texas school district. Students were matched on critical variables, and their scores on a …

The purpose of this study was to describe factors affecting the use of instructional ideas by secondary teachers in the academic year following a series of staff development sessions designed to present information on effective teaching practices. The research questions addressed the characteristics of information selected for use in classroom practice and the characteristics and relative degree of influence of salient factors affecting the use of ideas. Ten teachers from a large suburban school district in North Texas were selected for this study. Qualitative techniques were used to collect data. Each teacher was interviewed three times and observed in the classroom setting. Documents such as lesson plans were analyzed as a third source of data. Several factors evolved from the data. In varying degrees, these factors predicted teacher use of new instructional practices. Some factors dealt with the teacher's level of understanding and internalization of the information. These factors were labeled as instrumentality, congruence, and analytical thinking. Two other factors which were fairly strong predictors were labeled cost and intrinsic motivation. Cost concerned the amount of time or effort required to implement new ideas versus the perceived benefit to either teacher or student. Intrinsic motivation concerned the personal desire a …