Teacher Effectiveness in Special Education Programs

The instructional behavior of teachers of mildly retarded (EMR) and learning-disabled (LD) elementary-aged students was used to predict reading achievement gain. Teachers were observed for five 80-minute sessions using the Classroom Activity Recording Form (CARF). The 16 behaviors of the CARF are or...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of special education 1986-07, Vol.20 (2), p.195-207
Main Authors: Sindelar, Paul T., Smith, Maureen A., Harriman, Nancy E., Hale, Robert L., Wilson, Richard J.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The instructional behavior of teachers of mildly retarded (EMR) and learning-disabled (LD) elementary-aged students was used to predict reading achievement gain. Teachers were observed for five 80-minute sessions using the Classroom Activity Recording Form (CARF). The 16 behaviors of the CARF are organized into three major headings; Teacher-Directed Instruction (TDI), Independent Work (IND), and Non-Instructional Activities (NIA). Achievement gain was measured using the vocabulary and comprehension subtests of the California Achievement Test. For both EMR and LD teachers, time spent in TDI was predictive of achievement gain; the single best predictor among the TDI behaviors was time spent in Teacher Questioning (TQ). These results are consistent with previous studies of elementary teachers in which effectiveness derived from an active, questioning approach to instruction. The results are less compatible with findings in special education programs, in which achievement was most closely associated with time reading silently.
ISSN:0022-4669
1538-4764
DOI:10.1177/002246698602000206