THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY WERE TO--(1) IDENTIFY, DESCRIBE, AND CATEGORIZE SPECIFIC METHODS BEING UTILIZED BY TEACHERS OF "TRAINABLE" CHILDREN IN TENNESSEE, (2) IDENTIFY TEACHERS USING THE VARIOUS TECHNIQUES, (3) DEVELOP A PRELIMINARY RATING SCALE OF TEACHER COMPETENCY, (4) DETERMINE IF A RELATIONSHIP EXISTS BETWEEN METHODS BEING USED AND OTHER RELEVANT VARIABLES, AND (5) ESTABLISH HYPOTHESES FOR CONTROLLED RESEARCH ON TEACHING METHODOLOGY. THE PROCEDURES USED IN TEACHING "TRAINABLE" CHILDREN WERE IDENTIFIED AND CATEGORIZED THROUGH TYPE AND OBSERVATION RECORDINGS. A CLUSTER ANALYSIS SUGGESTED SEVEN PROBLEM AREAS IN TEACHING TRAINABLE CHILDREN--(1) INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP CONTROL, (2) MOTIVATING THE CHILDREN TO START AND CONTINUE WORKING, (3) BUILDING UP A SENSE OF PERSONAL WORTH IN THE CHILDREN, (4) STRUCTURING OR GUIDING THE LEARNING, (5) ENCOURAGING COOPERATIVE INTERPERSONAL INTERACTION, (6) PROVIDING FOR A MIND-SET OR ATTENTION, AND (7) DRAWING "FROM" THE CHILDREN (AS OPPOSED TO "POURING IN"). THE PATTERNING OF TEACHING TECHNIQUES NEEDS MORE STUDY. PROBLEM AREAS IN TEACHING SHOULD BE FURTHER CLARIFIED, INCLUDING STUDY OF THE APPLICABILITY OF THE SEVEN CLUSTERS DEFINED IN THIS STUDY TO OTHER TYPES OF CLASSES. FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS NEEDED TO DISCOVER WHICH TEACHING TECHNIQUES WOULD PRODUCE THE BEST RESULTS IN EACH OF THE PROBLEM AREAS. (GC)