The final report describes activities of the Improving Community-Based Instruction Project, which conducted research to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of training in community settings with individuals with severe disabilities. Three areas of research were undertaken: (1) studies of the influence of the location of instruction on the…

Suggests ways to enhance the processing of adventure-based experiences by making participants aware of their responses when they reach the edge of their own comfort zone. Participants can use this information to generalize the learning experience to home, school, and office situations. (LP)

The presuppositions that favor firsthand experience over secondhand information, as pertaining to learning and education, are questioned. It is noted that, when education and firsthand experience are described as if equivalent, a presumption is made that a commonsense theory of knowledge and mind is valid. Research on the social psychology of…

Ten remedial mathematics exercises are provided for children who have failed to integrate or apply their math skills. The exercises provide remediation through systematic experimentation, rather than abstract drills, by using number-configuration distinction with blocks, fractioned candy bars, decimal match sticks, graphed pictures, etc. (JDD)

Discusses how teachers learn to teach through direct experiences and participation as students and beginning teachers. Direct experience provides cause-and-effect inferences about what works; as time goes on, teachers use the knowledge acquired to improve their teaching. Strategies for school improvement work in much the same way. (SM)

Two special educators comment on an article in the same issue by Joe Reichle entitled "Communication Intervention with Persons Who Have Several Disabilities." Siegel-Causey stresses the implications of advances in augmentative and alternative communication and training for broader use of existing communication skills. Mirenda supports combining…

People use and extend their knowledge of the physical world constantly. Understanding how this fluency is achieved would be an important milestone in understanding human learning and intelligence, as well as a useful guide for constructing machines that learn. This paper presents a theoretical framework that is being developed in an attempt to…