ERIC Number: ED235459
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1983-Jun
Pages: 18
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Sociological Approach to Classroom Instruction. Occasional Paper No. 6.
Barr, Rebecca
To examine how classroom conditions such as students' mean aptitude, materials used, and instructional time influence the amount of reading material covered, 12 first grade classrooms were each observed for 12 days over a 36-week period. Students' reading readiness and word recognition skills were tested prior to observation while group mean aptitude, reading group size, and number of phonics concepts and new words introduced in the basal reading series were recorded during the study. Time spent on basal instruction, teacher-supervised reading group activities, and phonics work was determined by direct observation. Data corroborate earlier findings that the amount of material covered during a reading class--a significant predictor of reading achievement--was influenced by two main sets of conditions: characteristics of the group, particularly its mean aptitude, and conditions of the classroom, especially difficulty of materials and associated time conditions. (MM)
Descriptors: Basal Reading, Classroom Environment, Classroom Research, Classroom Techniques, Comparative Analysis, Difficulty Level, Elementary Education, Outcomes of Education, Reading Ability, Reading Achievement, Reading Instruction, Reading Materials, Reading Research, Teacher Effectiveness, Teaching Methods, Textbook Content, Time Factors (Learning)
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Researchers; Teachers; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: Spencer Foundation, Chicago, IL.
Authoring Institution: National College of Education, Evanston, IL. Reading Center.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Montreal, Canada, April 11-15, 1983).