Mexican-American mothers of first grade children participated in an educational program in which they learned to teach their children question-asking behaviors. This particular target behavior was selected because previous research and observation indicated that Mexican-American children asked few, if any questions. It was hypothesized that…

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…

Rather than emphasize specific facts, teaching science should help develop the whole person. Children learn science best when they are able to choose what they want to know. Suggestions for "living science" rather than parroting facts are offered. (DF)

Classroom observation assignments for preservice teachers allow them to observe detailed relationships among classroom space and teacher student interaction. Through structured observation, preservice teachers become aware of classroom interactions in a vivid and instructive manner. (CJ)

Discusses the unconscious process by which humans learn to write through imitation and repetition, and describes the employment of these techniques in English composition instruction. Argues that teacher authority, based on his/her subject knowledge and ability to communicate, is also necessary to student motivation. (JP)

Three elementary students with mental retardation were taught math facts during small group instruction in a regular classroom, using unrelated instructional feedback (sight word vocabulary cards). Results found that all students learned their targeted stimuli, some of their unrelated stimuli, and some of their peers' target stimuli through…

Presented are examples of academic, social, daily living, and motor skills that might be targeted for observational instruction for students with handicaps. At each of three phases of development (acquisition level, fluency level, and generalization level), suggestions are offered on choosing what to teach and deciding how to teach. (JDD)

Presents a lesson plan that enables children to identify their community as a nodal region. Includes field trips, map tracing and comparison, discussion, and observation. Emphasizes children's analysis of the effect of rail transportation on their community. Suggests using the students' community as a geographic laboratory for hands-on experience.…

Three fifth grade students with learning disabilities were taught to recognize multisyllabic basal vocabulary words using constant time delay in a small-group instructional arrangement and were assessed on ability to recognize, spell, and define both their own target words and observational words. The procedure was effective in establishing…

An observational learning paradigm was used to instruct five elementary students with mild or moderate mental retardation to monitor their comprehension of incomplete instructions. Although all subjects eventually demonstrated observational learning, performance varied depending on the type of instruction inadequacy. During posttesting all…

Effects of constant time delay in teaching sight word reading to four disabled preschoolers were evaluated. The method was reliably implemented in a group setting, effectively taught all targeted stimuli in near-errorless fashion, promoted observational learning across students, and resulted in greater expressive labeling and receptive…

This study examined effects of direct training and observational learning on acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of a first-aid skill for three pairs of preschool children with disabilities (three target learners and three observational learners). All six children learned the skill, generalized the skill to playground and home settings,…

Examines the use of modeling techniques in a methods course to help prepare prospective English teachers, focusing on: demonstrations and explicit instruction, use of class assignments and explicit modeling, and ongoing modeling and reflective analysis. Each section contains a description of instruction and a description of student and instructor…

Children with autism exhibit significant deficits in imitation skills which impede the acquisition of more complex behaviors and socialization, and are thus an important focus of early intervention programs for children with autism. This study used a multiple-baseline design across five young children with autism to assess the benefit of a…

In a single case study which incorporated a reversal within a multiple-baseline-across-subjects design, two women presented individual children (N=3) with eight natural-appearing opportunities to behave prosocially in each session (two opportunities each of helping, sharing, teaching, and sympathy). The training procedure involved a standardized…