Social problem-solving (SPS) skills training addresses primary prevention and competence-building designed to promote children's abilities to resolve interpersonal conflicts, and their adjustment. The Rochester SPS training program for second- to fourth-grade students is described, attentive to curriculum, structure, and SPS training. (Author/CE)

Cooperative learning can benefit all students, whether "average," low-achieving, gifted, or mainstreamed. Teachers trained at the University of Minnesota's Cooperative Learning Center expect to see students in small, heterogeneous groups using special skills and caring about each others' learning. Tips on cooperative spelling groups are…

This article describes a six-session program designed to help seven Australian young adults (ages 18-21) with Down syndrome understand friendships better. During the sessions, students explored and discussed various types of friendships and the emotions associated with them, using the students' own experiences and videos in conjunction with…

A course designed to incorporate interpersonal communication instruction into the veterinary curriculum at Purdue University is described, and a preliminary evaluation of the course's effectiveness is outlined and discussed. Students preferred videotaped practice interviews as a teaching technique, made few suggestions, and felt an eight-week…

The article lists skills to be taught, then describes the psychoeducational training procedures, management problems, and research evaluation results of the structured learning approach for teaching social competencies to aggressive, withdrawn, immature, or developmentally lagging preadolescents and adolescents. Effectiveness reported includes…

In June 1991, U.S. Department of Labor issued the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) Report detailing the necessary competencies and foundations required for twenty-first-century workers. Because communications skills, critical thinking, work habits, interpersonal skills, and individual responsibility are as important as…

Naturalistic research should produce reports which afford participants access to the process of interpretation. Naturalistic researchers should anticipate the need for negotiation relationships. However, the consequence of giving participants access to the process of interpretation is that it generates conflict. (JN)

The Youth Development Project is a research-based program for delinquency prevention. The project tested three strategies for children and youth at-risk: social skills training, cooperative student team learning, and parent school liaison. Data collection and planning began in the 1983-84 school year and intervention was started in 1984-85.…

The report describes preliminary results of a study investigating the merits of teaching five severely and multiply handicapped preschoolers to take the initiative during social interaction with an adult using signals/actions already in his/her repertoire. Such initiative was theorized as fundamental to the development of communicative,…

The cause of school and marriage failure is that most people practice stimulus-response psychology. Choice theory helps nurture the warm, supportive human relationships that students need for school success and couples need for marital success. Satisfying four basic psychological needs (for belonging, power, freedom, and fun) helps humans create…

A Communication Opportunity Group Scheme, which develops formal language and thinking, has been successful in enhancing the performance of a wide range of pupils with and without disabilities. Evidence is presented to illustrate its successful use with 24 children with inappropriate behavior and limited social interaction. (Contains references.)…

The uses for computer-controlled interactive video using a videodisc in training are discussed. Elements of the videodisc are examined: interactivity, soft skills training ability, effectiveness as a training agent, acceptance of videodisc by trainers, price, and cost-effectiveness. (CT)

Survival Skills for Urban Women is a series of 10 3-hour workshops designed for low-income minority women. The workshops cover the following topics: (1) assertiveness; (2) personal health; (3) nutrition; (4) money management; (5) child management; (6) legal rights; (7) self-advocacy; (8) crisis coping; (9) community resources; and (10) re-entry to…

This article discusses designing leadership lessons for students with mild disabilities and results of a study evaluating the effectiveness of leadership training of 12 adolescents with mild disabilities. After attending bimonthly leadership workshops, students developed their ability to manage interpersonal relationships and work cooperatively,…

This article highlights Project Adventure, an adventure-based curriculum that teaches students social skills, teamwork, and conflict resolution. It describes how Project Adventure works, what effect it has on students with behavior disorders, and practical steps for teachers to follow as they introduce their students to this social-skills…