Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Effectiveness IDENTIFIERS Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge

A study examined the experiences of elementary teachers as they learned about the developmental nature of spelling, how to analyze student spellings, and ways to restructure their spelling program based on the needs of individual students. Nine teachers at two elementary schools volunteered to participate and expressed discomfort about current practices for spelling instruction. Surveys were completed and interviews were conducted. Inservice teacher education sessions over a 6-month period showed teachers how to administer and analyze the Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge (QWIK). Results indicated that: (1) at the beginning of the intervention period, most of the teachers ' questions centered on issues of time, instructional organization, classroom management, and grading; (2) at the end of the period, teachers ' question