Eight students were observed during classroom instruction. Comparisons were made of how they spent their time in resource and regular classrooms. In general, opportunities for differentiated instruction were available in resource rooms. However, no practical differences were noted in the amount of time students were actively engaged in instruction…

Sixteen elementary students were observed systematically over 2 entire school days to examine the nature of instruction and academic responding times for elementary learning disabled (LD) students during resource room and mainstream classroom instruction. Data were recorded on six categories in 10 second intervals. Results indicated that in the…

The paper integrates results from three studies that examined learning disabled (LD) and regular education students' academic responding time in different instructional arrangements: (1) high, middle, and low reading group placement, (2) regular and resource room placement, and (3) special education service level placement. Sixty-nine second-,…

A teacher describes the organization of her resource room program for learning disabled elementary grade students emphasizing increased academic learning time through structured direct instruction and independent work time, activities to reinforce individual and small group instruction, and systematic material storage and recordkeeping. (DB)

Two elementary boys in a deaf education resource room who did not complete a writing assignment within the allotted time were subsequently given tokens contingent upon their starting promptly. The use of tokens was effective in reducing response latency. (Author/PB)

Results of a study of five subjects (ages 7-9) in a multicategorical resource room employing a token economy indicated that the addition of a daily review of classroom rules resulted in an overall time-on-task improvement of 12% and a 50% reduction of instances of disruptive "talkout." (Author/JW)

The report summarizes a year long observational study of special education programs in one district's 12 elementary schools (Queens, New York). Data were gathered using observational time samples of teacher, student, and paraprofessional activity and student time on task; descriptive notes of the classroom context; ratings of 15 dimensions of…

Naturalistic observation procedures examined the use of time by 230 elementary students with disabilities in four special education placements--regular class, resource room, special class, and special school. The least restrictive alternatives, particularly the resource room, made more in-class learning time available. (Author/DB)

The school day of a total of 122 learning disabled, emotionally/behaviorally disturbed, educable mentally retarded, and nonhandicapped elementary students was observed. Findings were noted concerning time allocated to instruction in specific content areas, time spent in different school settings, and time allocated to instruction as a function of…

Variability of attention to task and its relation to instructional contexts for learning disabled (LD) children was investigated. Subjects were 24 mainstreamed elementary grade LD children. The children's behaviors relating to academic engagement and the situational contexts in which they occurred were observed and coded in both the regular class…

Investigated attention-to-task and its relation to instructional context among 24 mainstreamed children with learning disabilities. Observation of students in regular class and resource room revealed significant differences in rate of engagement for classroom setting, type of instruction, and level of peer involvement, indicating that degree of…

This study investigated time allocated to instruction as a function of the specific type of mild handicap and as a function of setting and subject matter content. Subjects were 122 elementary students categorized as learning-disabled, emotionally/behaviorally disturbed, educable mentally retarded, and nonhandicapped. Subjects were in mainstreamed,…

Observations were conducted to document the active academic responding and academic engagement rates of 122 elementary students (30 learning-disabled, 32 emotionally/behaviorally disturbed, 30 mildly mentally retarded, and 30 self-contained programs. Data were recorded in 10-second intervals for each student over an entire school day. During a…

This project examined the extent to which varying instructional grouping arrangements are used for different categories of mildly handicapped students in various instructional settings and the extent to which any differences translated to differences in student responses. Observational data were recorded all day in 10-second intervals for 122…

Observational data were collected on the instructional tasks used by 122 elementary students (30 learning-disabled, 32 emotionally/behaviorally disturbed, 30 educable mentally retarded, and 30 nonhandicapped). No differences between handicapped and nonhandicapped students were revealed in an analysis of time using each of eight specific tasks…