EFFECTS OF TEACHING-METHODS, CLASS EFFECTS, AND PATTERNS OF COGNITIVETEACHER-PUPIL INTERACTIONS IN AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY IN PRIMARY-SCHOOLCLASSES

The investigation which is reported on tries to contribute to the expl anation of school effectiveness and instructional effectiveness by ana lyzing relations between instructional methods and class contexts. The study consists of an experimental part and an observational part. Wit hin the experiment in fourth grades, two methods of structuring the su bject matter which are derived from theories of knowledge representati on were compared to a control method. The tendencies of the results em phasize the assumption that already in fourth grades it is possible to acquire higher-order biological cause-and-effect knowledge by using a hierarchical or a network-like structuring method. Further analysis y ielded subgroups with homogeneous intra-class regressions, which we cl assified as 'difference compensating' and as 'difference increasing cl ass contexts'. On the subgroup level we found aptitude-treatment inter actions. Different patterns within the verbal-cognitive teacher-pupil interaction turned out in the observation analysis. They were located among the treatment groups and between the subgroups 'difference compe nsating' and 'difference increasing'. Partly these patterns could be u sed for the description of class contexts. Due to the fact that certai n educational features of classes were very important, micro character istics of class contexts should be investigated more intensively withi n the research on school and on instruction.