This manual presents a training methodology for use in changing pivotal behaviors of children with autism or other severe handicaps. Behaviors specifically addressed for their far ranging effects involve motivation and responsivity to multiple cues. Seven instructional points are detailed with both good and poor implementation examples. The manual…

Despite the importance accorded to helping students make conceptual connections and arrive at a more sophisticated understanding of how ideas, concepts, theories, and explanations interact with and inform one another, educators have few maps to help them describe the process by which students learn to make these connections. Through skill theory,…

Provides a rough classification of three basic design aspects of audiocassette production in a distance education framework: dramaturgical design; didactic functions or teaching objectives; and reciprocal relations to other media and students' activities. It is concluded that audiocassettes can be very effective and powerful when developed to…

Describes a package of computer programs developed to implement an oil exploration game that gives undergraduate students practical experience in applying theoretical principles of petroleum geology. The programs facilitate management of the game by the instructor and enhance the learning experience. (Author/MBR)

Proposes a taxonomy which describes interactivity and adaptation outside the context of any particular medium. Designed to facilitate the instructional design and media selection processes, this taxonomy is represented as a cube whose axes represent interactivity and internal and external adaptation levels. Levels of interactivity and adaptation…

Emphasizes that learning is influenced by the student's active response to instruction. Teachers are advised to remain aware of student responses by initiating work contracts with students and are encouraged to help students learn to respond appropriately to instruction by arranging the classroom environment so that attention and motivation are…

The purpose of this study was to characterize the nature of conversational engagement evidenced by 30 learning-disabled and 30 nondisabled children while they participated in a semi-structured dyadic interaction. Also investigated were the relationships among the levels of engagement employed by the elementary or junior high students and their…

The positivist paradigm has dominated the shape and direction of research in education. Traditionally the scientific method is adhered to, variables are strictly controlled, statistics are compiled, and conclusions are reached. In the post-positivist paradigm, studies conducted using naturalistic inquiry take place in the natural setting and do…

This study investigated the effectiveness of a natural environment language training procedure that combined the mand-model procedure and the time delay procedure for the acquisition of noun signs and for the spontaneous use of the signs acquired. One autistic boy, aged 5 years, 4 months with no verbal imitation skills and few movement imitation…