Introduction: Experts in the field have advocated that quality physical education (QPE) is the centerpiece of a comprehensive school physical education program (CSPAP). Evidence-based programs and instructional models have shown great promise in increasing the physical activity (PA) of today’s youth. However, little is known about the specific impact of teaching behaviors (TB) used within these programs and their impact on student outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to use a systematic observation method that is primarily focused on analyzing TBs that are displayed in class, identify TBs that may contribute to positive student activity outcomes, and make recommendations to current and future physical educators on behaviors they should and should not include in their teaching. Methods: Data for student activity and the Observational Record for Recording Physical Educator Teacher Behavior (ORRPETB) observation methodwere obtained from 22 video recorded elementary PE lessons. Results: The majority of the lesson climate was spent in activity (64.5%), followed by instruction (20.1%), management (10.8%), and waiting (4.6%). Interactions between the teacher and student revealed that teachers spent on average 59% of their lessons interacting with the whole class. Teachers interacted with individuals 32% (52% male, 48% female) and small groups, on average, 8% of the time. The primary outcome variable teacher behaviors found that, on average, teachers spent 27% of lesson time lecturing/orienting and 24% of lesson time monitoring their students. The next most common condensed teacher behavior was managing (13%), followed by fielding and responding to questions (10%), skill feedback – corrective (9%), behavioral feedback (7%), modeling (5%), undesirable behavior (3%), and skill feedback (2%) Discussion: The descriptive information in the study uncovers some important characteristics of PE impact teacher behaviors. Identifying “monitoring” as an impact teacher behavior that contributes significantly to the activity levels of students provides useful variable data. Despite this teaching behavior variable’s potential to increase student PA and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA), PE specialists should attempt to balance the amount of monitoring that occurs in their classrooms with other desirable impact behaviors (i.e., providing skill feedback – non-corrective) while limiting impact behaviors that negatively impact PA (i.e., managing, skill-feedback corrective, etc.).

Over the past decade, the number of students entering postsecondary institutions immediately after high school has been decreasing, while the number of non-traditional aged students, defined as adults over 25, has substantially increased, with women making up the majority of this adult student group. Mathematics education is an area where non-traditional age women tend to have difficulty. Fifteen individual interviews were conducted with non-traditional age women enrolled in a community college, 10 identifying mathematics as the subject they would least enjoy and 5 identifying mathematics as the subject they would most enjoy. Data were analyzed by comparing the women's stories and drawing out common themes. Eight major themes and six sub-themes emerged: (1) Acquiring a college education is a personal goal; (2) Adequate study time is necessary to understand and to retain mathematical concepts; (3) Experiences with mathematics at an early age remain in one's memory, (3a) Poor experience with mathematics at an early age tended to make participants believe they could not learn mathematics, (3b) Positive experience with mathematics at an early age tended to provide participants a higher degree of self-efficacy in succeeding in mathematics courses; (4) Parental behavior and expectations play a role in children's self-perception, (4a) Absence of parental/family support tended to discourage participants from pursuing further education, (4b) Presence of parental/family support tended to encourage participants in pursuing further education; (5) Teacher behaviors and teaching methods matter, (5a) Negative teacher behaviors tended to cause some to develop poor mathematics self-concept, (5b) Positive teacher behaviors tended to encourage some to persevere in understanding mathematics; (6) Feelings of powerlessness may impede learning mathematics; (7) Self-esteem can survive in spite of past failure; (8) Motivation to understand mathematical concepts remained high. Seventeen implications for both faculty and students were drawn from the responses of the participants. Both metacognitive and affective factors present in learning mathematics were expressed and meanings attached to experiences were reported in participants' own words. Suggestions are offered explaining what teachers might do to reinforce positive metacognitions and reduce those that are negative. Recommendations for further research are provided and personal reflections are shared.

The purpose of the study was to provide training and follow-up sessions for Sunday school teachers to increase the use of inclusive teacher behaviors (opportunities to respond, behavior specific praise, and opportunities to participate) for educating a child with moderate to severe disability. A multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of training and follow-up sessions for a Sunday school teacher that had a child with moderate to severe disability in her class. The results showed training and follow-up were effective in teaching inclusive teacher behaviors within a church setting.

The study was designed to determine and compare the perceptions of various groups with regard to the most and the last important characteristics and behaviors of effective teachers. The population for the study included (a) four groups of high school graduates selected at five year intervals beginning with 1980, (b) four groups of high school dropouts selected from the same five year intervals, (c) high school teachers, (d) high school principals and central office administrators, and (f) teacher educators. The instrument used to determine perceptions was a 28 item Q-sort. The items of the Q-sort were developed from a review of the literature on teacher effectiveness and from a review of the criteria for the evaluation of teacher effectiveness as used by the school district in which the study was conducted. The Q-sort items were deemed valid by a panel of teacher educators.

Public school teachers must meet the unique needs of English language learners (ELLs) in the general education classroom. There is a need to understand teacher attitudes toward ELLs because attitudes can explain and influence teacher behavior and professional practice. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationships between attitudes and behavior with years of experience as well as professional development among teachers working with ELLs. Sociocultural, situational learning, and second language acquisition theories provided the theoretical foundation for the study. Data were collected from 286 teachers using the Teacher Attitudes Toward English-as-a-Second-Language Survey. Analyses included descriptive statistics, correlational analysis, independent sample t tests, and Mann-Whitney U test. Results indicated a significant, direct correlation between teachers' years of experience and their attitudes regarding coursework modifications. The independent sample t tests indicated significant differences in a subscale of the variable teaching behavior between participants who had and had not received adequate training. In addition, significant differences in teachers' attitudes existed among those teachers between participants who had and had not received professional development. The study can effect social change at the local site by fostering an increased understanding of how experience and professional development influences teachers' attitudes toward inclusion and behaviors toward ELLs, thereby highlighting the importance of professional development and experience for meeting the needs of ELL students.

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