Group contingencies have the advantages of encouraging individual students to collectively feel responsible for appropriate and inappropriate classroom behaviors and have shown effectiveness in improving students' behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a random dependent group contingency on the on-task behaviors of…

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 variations of a level system as a behavior management tool for behavior-disordered and learning-disabled adolescents (N=19) in a resource setting were evaluated. Four color-coded levels were designed to decrease talkouts and out-of-seat behaviors. During system implementation, disruptive and off-task behaviors decreased, and task completion…

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…

The SOBR observation technique was used to observe reading instruction in special education resource room programs for mildly disabled students. Disabled and nondisabled students in regular classrooms were also observed. There were considerable differences in reading instruction across programs and students. The amount of reading instruction was…

The study, involving 15 Indiana high school resource room teachers, focused on three aspects of resource room programming: (1) teachers' perceptions of their roles as resource room teachers and perceived concerns regarding the provision of services to mildly handicapped adolescents; (2) role-related activities of secondary resource room teachers;…

This study of the instructional ecology of 52 high school resource room programs for mildly handicapped students found that teachers instructed in a wide variety of content areas and had high student engagement rates. Instructional practices generally associated with high achievement were not typically employed. Implications for teacher training…

Possible reasons for the nationwide increase in the number of children identified as learning disabled (LD) include abrogation of general education's responsibility toward difficult to educate children, increasing differences in preservice general and special education training, the increase in parent/student rights litigation, and parental…