Regarding the three main features of scaffolding, namely, contingency, fading, and the transfer of responsibility, contingency entails the assistance adjusted to a learner's existing level of understanding. The present study investigated the effect of the model of contingent teaching on improving Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL)…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a simple contingency contracting intervention on the correct use of punctuation marks in freely produced texts by elementary school children with learning disabilities. This approach can be considered a promising strategy for facilitating the development of academic skills in…

Taking into account the three key features of scaffolding, namely, contingency, fading and the transfer of responsibility, the present study investigated the role of cognitive scaffolding in speaking and its components (i.e. grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, discourse management, interactive communication). Moreover, the possible moderating…

Although massed-trial instruction, distributed-trial instruction, and task interspersal have been shown to be effective methods of teaching skills to children with autism spectrum disorders, they have not been directly compared. In the current study, we taught 6 children to tact shapes of countries using these methods to determine which would…

This paper reports on an investigation of the use of Facebook as a tool to mediate learning amongst distance learners at Makerere University, a dual-mode institution offering both conventional and distance learning programs. While conventional courses take 17 weeks in a semester, the distance learners come in for two residential sessions, each…

Researchers have documented the positive effects of classwide peer tutoring on academic performance, engagement, and other social behaviors of students with and without disabilities. Commonly, in classwide peer tutoring, students are paired and the class is divided in half. Points are awarded for tutoring behavior and academic responding during…

This article reviews two instructional strategies, derived from applied behavior analysis, designed to develop meaningful social relations for children with autism. The literature on the implementation and effectiveness of teaching peers to be intervention agents and using group-oriented contingencies is reviewed. Emphasis is on the social…

A study of 4 youths (ages 11-18) with autism examined the effectiveness of teaching appropriate affective behavioral responses. Participants were described by teachers as having flat and inappropriate affect. Treatment consisted of modeling, prompting, and reinforcement. The combination of an error-correction procedure and contingent delivery of…

This document presents the final report of a 4-year project (ending in 1991) which conducted six studies of the impact of various peer-mediated interventions on the acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of social interaction skills of preschoolers with severe disabilities. The report covers project objectives, the project's theoretical…

Investigated acceptability of intervention designed to improve spelling performance as rated by sixth grade students (n=93) in two studies. Results showed that these interventions were successful at improving spelling performance and that differences related to group size were inconsistent across studies. (Author/PVV)

A Copy, Cover, and Compare procedure was found to produce large improvements in the accuracy of the multiplication facts of two middle school students with attention deficit disorder or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. The addition of a token economy program produced only small improvements in performance. (Author/PB)

This study of interactions between three severely withdrawn, autistic preschool children and six nonhandicapped peers found that peers can be effectively taught strategies to increase appropriate social behaviors of autistic classmates, and a group-oriented reinforcement contingency is an effective complement to teacher-prompted interventions and…

This report summarizes the results of research studies on instructional practices that significantly affect the cognitive, language, or mental abilities of students with disabilities. The investigation reviewed current research on instruction of students with moderate disabilities and sought to identify effective instructional practices. The steps…