Experiential learning is an effective educational tool across many academic disciplines, including career development. Nine different institutions bridged by the National Institutes of Health Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training Consortium compared their experiments in rethinking and expanding training of predoctoral graduate students and…

Observational learning (OL) is critical for the acquisition of social skills and may be an important skill for learning in traditional educational settings. Although OL occurs during early childhood in the typically developing population, research suggests that it may be limited in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The…

Understanding the intentional relations in others' actions is critical to human social life. Origins of this knowledge exist in the first year and are a function of both acting as an intentional agent and observing movement cues in actions. We explore a new mechanism we believe plays an important role in infants' understanding of new actions:…

In the first of two experiments, we demonstrate the spread of a novel form of tool use across 20 "cultural generations" of child-to-child transmission. An experimentally seeded technique spread with 100% fidelity along twice as many "generations" as has been investigated in recent exploratory "diffusion" experiments of this type. This contrasted…

One 9-year-old child was taught conditional discriminations between dictated names in Spanish and their corresponding pictures across three stimulus sets while her 10-year-old brother observed. Posttests revealed the emergence of symmetry relations in the form of oral naming skills by both children. (Contains 2 figures.)

In an earlier study, we had tested if observing a collaboration model, or alternatively, following a collaboration script could improve students' subsequent collaboration in a computer-mediated setting and promote their knowledge of good collaboration. Both model and script showed positive effects. The current study was designed to further probe…

This paper suggests a variety of practical strategies which can be used in qualitative analysis of participant observation programs. (JR)

Suggests using dyadic and/or triadic activities in the classroom to exemplify speech theories and propositions. Exercises, discussion formats and evaluation criteria are provided. (MH)

Reports on a research study which examined problems that occur when preservice teachers in music education observe and evaluate a classroom. Perceptions of observers assigned three different visual perspectives of a single music lesson were compared. Concludes that student observers should be given specific direction regarding interpreting…

Research was conducted relevant to two questions: First, does generalized imitation reflect the child's failure to discriminate reinforced from non-reinforced occasions? Second, are the results which characterize generalized imitation a function of confounded social and instructional influences that operate within the procedures used in…

Describes a psychology program to involve undergraduate students in community child care centers. Assessment of student performance indicated that students achieved skill in observation and evaluation techniques but did not develop adequate objectivity. (Author/DB)

This discussion article addresses the nature of models used in hydrology. It proposes a minimalist classification of models into two categories: models built on data from observations of the processes involved, and those for which there are no observation data on any of these processes, at the scale of interest. (LZ)

In the behavioral science course for medical students at the University of Adelaide, students observe behavior in different treatment settings and then write an essay applying behavioral science concepts to what they have observed. Student reaction has been positive and the program is successful in providing students with an unbiased view of…

Sketches some of the dilemmas in language assessment and presents exemplary practical approaches to assessment in the language arts areas of listening, oral language, reading, and writing. (SD)

This volume includes reports of five research projects of the Kansas Center for Research in Early Childhood Education: (1) Individual Differences in Newborn and Young Infants, including research with the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale and laboratory studies of infant discriminative abilities; (2) Development of Social Competence, including…