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This study compared the instructional decision-making of expert and novice special educators in familiar instructional settings, investigating whether they differed in how they allocated attention to different instructional themes in the classroom. Participants were 38 expert special educators and special education student teachers. Student teachers completed an initial survey about their teaching experiences and knowledge of their assigned student teaching classroom. Expert teachers completed interviews about classroom experiences and teaching philosophy. Videotapes and observations were made of teachers instructing their students within the classroom. A stimulated recall procedure obtained teachers' reflections about the videotaped instructional sequence. A second interview was conducted at the end of the stimulated recall sessions and after preliminary coding. Results indicated that reflections among both groups included references to students' prior knowledge, preferences, behavioral patterns, learning ability, emotionality, and diagnostic categories. Experts reflected significantly more often than novices in several categories, focusing significantly more often on students' prior knowledge and typical behavior. Teachers strategically and reflectively applied various instructional interventions based on teacher background knowledge and information they gathered during instruction. Experts displayed significantly more comments about instructional strategies and collaboration/consultation than did novices. (Contains 30 references.) (SM)

This study investigated whether stimulated recall could facilitate the transfer of expertise through the provision of models of expert special educators in real-world context to student teachers. Participants were 19 special education teachers with at least 5 years of experience who were recognized as superior special education teachers by their supervisors. Data, which included interviews, videotaping, and observations, were collected by five different researchers. After each observation and videotaping a stimulated recall procedure took place with the teacher to obtain reflections about the classroom interactions or consultations. Field notes and transcripts added to knowledge about the content and nature of instructional thinking by these expert special education teachers. In the second phase of the project 33 preservice special education teachers participated. Fourteen of these students received supplemental training developed from the first phase of the study, and the other 19 served as a control group. Stimulated recall was also used with the experimental and control groups after they had spent 2 months at their student teaching placements. Findings show that it was possible to design contextually rich cases of effective special educators and to use these in instruction for preservice teachers. Both expert teachers and preservice teachers became comfortable with the stimulated recall technique. The technique is easily implemented and requires a minimum of supervision on the part of the teacher educator while producing a maximum opportunity for reflective thought. (Contains 23 references.) (SLD)

A review of the literature was conducted to investigate how researchers have identified expert teachers. Each of the 29 studies used selection criteria that fell into one or more of the following market categories: (1) years of experience; (2) social recognition; (3) professional or social group membership; and (4) other performance-based criteria. The results of the literature review indicate variability in the selection criteria for identifying expert teachers. A rubric to determine teacher expertise is proposed that incorporates findings from this literature review. (Contains 1 table and 56 references.) (Author/SLD)

This study, part of a larger study on special education teacher expertise, compared the instructional decision making of expert and novice special education teachers in familiar instructional settings to determine differences in the allocation of attention to different instructional themes. Participants were 19 expert special education teachers and 19 student teachers majoring in special education. Two one-hour videotapes were made of each teacher in the classroom, observations were made in conjunction with each videotaping session, and stimulated recall procedures were used to obtain teachers' reflections about the process videotaped. Teacher reflections were coded into 11 categories which fell under three conceptual themes: (1) teacher on-line assessment of students, (2) teachers' tacit knowledge of students, and (3) classroom strategies. Expert teachers reflected significantly more often than did novices concerning student "state of mind," students' prior knowledge, and students' typical behavior patterns. Expert teachers strategically and reflectively applied a variety of instructional interventions that were based on both their background knowledge and the information they gathered during instruction. Experts expressed significantly more comments about instructional strategies and collaboration/consultation than did novices, but the two groups did not differ in regard to the behavioral, monitoring, or management strategies mentioned. (Contains 30 references.) (DB)

This study examined the effects of using expert models on the reflective thought of preservice special educators during classroom instruction. Nonintervention students completed seminars emphasizing Stalling's Active Teaching and Learning and Learning to Teach in Inner City Schools and the Diverse Populations curriculum. The seminars included discussions around students' classroom experiences. Intervention students participated in those seminars, then completed eight seminars on: classroom management, student characteristics, teacher knowledge, monitoring behavior and academics, student knowledge and learning, instructional strategies, student behavior and behavioral strategies, and instructional assessment. Each seminar included videotapes and audiotapes of expert teachers reflecting on instruction. Student teachers read weekly case studies describing expert teachers and offering quotes and examples of how teachers reflected upon the eight categories. Student teachers reflected on how each topic might influence their students and classrooms. Both groups were observed and videotaped twice while delivering instruction. A stimulated recall procedure obtained their reflections on the videotaped instructional sequence. Results found no notable between-group differences in the percentage of comments in each category. The largest category of comments for both groups was strategies, followed by student characteristics, then teachers' goals and expectations for students. (Contains 30 references.) (SM)

This report discusses the findings of a study that examined the reflections of identified "expert" special educators (n=20) working in a variety of instructional settings with diverse student populations. Special education supervisors were asked to nominate teachers who: (1) had at least five years of teaching experience, (2) were recognized among their peers, parents or the community as being effective teachers, (3) instructed students that generally made excellent progress in achieving their individualized education plan objectives, and (4) were viewed as superior special education teachers. Teachers viewed videotapes of themselves teaching and recalled thoughts or feelings that occurring during the instruction. Results indicate that teachers made frequent use of "instructional diagnosis," in which teachers used extensive content knowledge and the particular knowledge of the student to arrive at a diagnosis. Immediately following the diagnosis, they applied a modification to remedy the learning difficulty that the student was encountering. This procedure was repeated numerous times over the course of the instructional period, with a diagnosis of one student often being made several times in the space of five or ten minutes. This instructional diagnosis did not seem to rely on the category assigned to a student; instead, teachers closely observed the progress of the student, basing their observation on the student's progress, together with their past knowledge of the student. (Contains 35 references.) (CR)

This paper describes the first year of a 3-year project to identify the specific skills of expert special education teachers. The project has three objectives: (1) to develop a knowledge base of identified expert special educators who work with culturally and linguistically diverse students with mild/moderate disabilities; (2) to field-test expertise teacher training materials and activities by incorporating them into a teacher education program; and (3) to evaluate and disseminate project results. The project is based on the premise that changes in the nature of special education have altered the role that special education teachers play. These changes include the inclusion movement, the changing demography of the school population, and the increased emphasis on transition services for adolescents. The literature is reviewed concerning characteristics of the expert educator of students with disabilities, the definition of expertise in teaching, and findings of research on thought processes of expert teachers. These findings suggest expert special educators focus more intensely on the needs of the individual learner than do regular educators. Other findings suggest that an effective method for teaching expertise is the use of videotaped classroom situations with audiotapes of the expert teacher commenting on his/her instructional behavior. (Contains 59 references.) (DB)

Using a stimulated recall procedure, this study examined the reflections of identified "expert" special educators who were working in a variety of instructional settings with differing student populations. Participants were 13 special education teachers from urban, mid-size, and rural school districts. Special education supervisors were asked to nominate teachers who had at least five years of teaching experience, were recognized as being effective teachers, instructed students that generally made excellent progress, and were generally viewed as superior special education teachers. Teachers were interviewed about their classroom experiences and teaching philosophy and then viewed videotapes of their instruction to stimulate thoughts and decisions that were occurring during the instructional episode. Findings from the study indicate the stimulated recall procedures successfully prompted teachers to readily and prolifically express their thoughts and emotions concerning targeted teaching sequences. Many times teachers did not restrict their comments to the episode that they observed on the videotape, but expanded on how they made instructional decisions, describing previous events had influenced their decision-making. Teachers used instructional diagnosis and frequently consulted regular education teachers to teach students with special needs. The use of the stimulated recall procedure for transferring expertise is discussed. (Contains 27 references.) (CR)

This study investigated teachers' emotions as they prepared and administered test feedback sessions related to exams delivered in undergraduate educational psychology courses. Qualitative methodology was used to gather data over two semesters, using grounded theory to collect and analyze data. Seven instructors were observed and interviewed regarding their beliefs about upcoming test-feedback sessions and past experiences with such sessions. Following the feedback sessions, instructors were interviewed about their reactions to the session. Several students were also interviewed about their reactions. The test-feedback sessions evoked high levels of emotionality from instructors and students. Instructors held similar beliefs about feedback sessions, which, when added to past feedback experiences, shaped their expectations for future sessions. These expectations led to various strategies for preparing for upcoming sessions. During the sessions, teachers closely monitoring students' emotional responses, experienced strong emotions while delivering feedback, and attempted to implement classroom procedures to deal with their own and their students' emotions (privatizing sessions, discussing other test items, and having other students discuss problematic items with them). Instructors wished to avoid negative confrontations, but they wanted minimal levels of response from students and were frustrated by low levels of response. (Contains 17 references.) (SM)

This investigation, which was part of a larger dissertation study, examined high-level performance in groups of people with developmental disabilities and the instruction that facilitated such performance. Specifically, it focused on those aspects of instruction that appeared to be particularly effective in eliciting a high level of performance in musical performance groups. The participants for the study were directors of and the performers in five separate handbell choirs. The ringers in four of these handbell choirs (n=56) were individuals with mental retardation or developmental disabilities, whereas the performers in the fifth group consisted of individuals who did not have disabilities. Three major categories emerged from the data collected in the study, distributed cognitive load of producing a musical piece, scaffolding, and situated practice. Results found that the primary difference in the instruction by the directors of the groups with developmental disabilities was that directors adopted more of the cognitive load and planned for the task so that the ringers had less processing they had to manage. These directors also monitored the ringers in the group much more on a local level, for example, the mechanics of how an individual was ringing a bell. (Contains 41 references.) (CR)

This qualitative study examined constructs of "expertise" in the domain of music with five groups of handbell choirs, four of which were comprised of individuals with mental retardation or developmental disability. Subjects with mental retardation also differed in their residential placements (home, community, institutions) and level of developmental disability. Information was obtained from direct observation, videotapes, interviews with choir directors, and a stimulated recall procedure. Results are analyzed in terms of the "central phenomenon" (the bell ringing event) and a model of "socially shared expertise" comprised of causal conditions, intervening variables, strategies, and consequences. Discussion centers on definitions of expertise, expertise as socially shared cognition, distributing the cognitive load through the group, situated practice, and scaffolding. The paper concludes that the groups with mental retardation differed from the control group in the amount of cognitive load assumed by the director, in the amount of self-monitoring versus other-directed monitoring, in the amount of attention given to the director's cues, and in planning by directors. (Contains 95 references.) (DB)

Factors influencing the achievement and retention of ethnic minority students were studied, focusing on 38 ethnic minority students in a college engineering program. Of the 38 students, 12 were African American, and 26 were Hispanic of Mexican American origin. Students were participants in the university's Equal Opportunity in Engineering program, which targeted its retention efforts to ethnic minorities. Information on their achievement in the first and second semesters was compiled, and a profile was created for each student, using grade point average and retention status to create achievement and retention (in engineering) categories. Telephone interviews were conducted with students to determine their perceptions of factors that influenced their achievement and retention. Successful students were more articulate about their use of study strategies and seemed to have more metacognitive awareness. Successful students listed group studying as one of their primary learning strategies. Both successful and unsuccessful students made negative comments about the teaching ability of some teachers, but successful students were able to identify ways to circumvent negative instruction. (Contains 27 references.) (SLD)

This review of the literature examines the effectiveness of instructing students in various test-taking strategies, particularly in reference to multiple choice questions. Among findings reported are that while test-wiseness strategies may be taught, these strategies have limited generalizability across exams and learners who proactively process information, such as test items, are more likely to understand and recall what they learn. Specific strategies validated by the literature for multiple choice tests include: (1) the length of a multiple choice option often signals its correctness; (2) avoid items using the words "always" and "never" (inclusionary language); (3) avoid grossly unrelated alternatives; (4) pay attention to grammatical clues; (5) choose the mid-range answer; (6) use deduction on the item; (7) be aware of similarity or oppositeness; (8) adopt the appropriate level of sophistication for the test; (9) consider the purpose of the test constructor; (10) make efficient use of time; (11) use error avoidance strategies; and (12) utilize deductive reasoning strategies. (Contains 30 references.) (DB)

This study explored how motivational and achievement factors interact and affect persistence in minority undergraduate engineering students. Study participants were 38 entering Mexican and African American college students in an engineering program at a large, southwestern university in the Fall of 1990. Each student was assigned to a peer counseling group designed to solicit information on how students negotiated their way through the engineering program. In the course of the study, which lasted three semesters, students completed questionnaires and were interviewed by telephone. Analysis of the students' perceptions of their experiences showed that successful students more frequently described specific learning strategies they used and offered more details about what they would do and why. In addition, low achievers referred to poor teaching in response to factors which hindered their achievement though close to half of the successful students also mentioned poor teaching. As a group the students generally sounded alienated, discouraged and/or overwhelmed by the program's difficulty, how hard they had to work to keep up, and how difficult it was to obtain good grades. Comments that characterized the system as hostile were as frequent among the successful students as among unsuccessful students. Appendixes contain study instruments. (Contains 33 references.) (JB)

The types and frequency of markings students made on multiple choice tests were studied as an indication of students' metacognitive test-taking strategies. Also studied was whether instruction in test-taking strategies affected students' fluency and flexibility of strategy use as demonstrated through the marks they made on tests. Participants were 90 undergraduates in 16 sections of a learning strategies course. Students were tested on three occasions in the semester. Answer indication and option elimination marks were most commonly made, with option elimination marks most commonly associated with high test scores before test-taking strategy instruction. After strategy instruction, and perhaps as a result of increasing the number of markings students made overall, none of the categories of markings were significantly correlated with high test scores. Following test-taking strategy instruction, both the fluency and the flexibility of types of markings increased, although flexibility decreased when students were tested several weeks after instruction. There was a difference in the pattern of markings of successful versus unsuccessful test takers. Option elimination, answer change, and selective item markings were evidently used by the student as metacognitive aids. (Contains 10 tables and 22 references.) (SLD)