Purpose: Today's technology supports the design of more and more sophisticated interactive learning environments. This paper aims to argue that such design should develop from first principles. Design/methodology/approach: In the paper by first principles is meant: learning theory and principles of course design. These principles are briefly…

The paper describes how creative dramatics activities can be structured to promote appropriate leisure and recreational behaviors in autistic adolescents. The foundation of such an approach is the spontaneous, guided, and improvisational play processes of children. In addition to leisure and recreational skill development, creative dramatics are…

A conceptual framework for instructional design is introduced which includes three major components: task analysis (involving dimensions such as objectives, skills, and subject matter structure), learner analysis (concerned with variables such as age, population, and group characteristics), and means analysis (involving the selection of…

This state of the art paper focuses on the skills and competencies needed by teachers working with severely handicapped children. Analyzed are the applications of behavior principles, systematic program building (task analysis), and instructional procedures to the acquisition of such basic skills as self-feeding and walking. Noted is the…

This study compared two contrasting preservice teacher training programs, analyzing the terminal objectives, the objectives prerequisite for accomplishing the terminal objectives, and strategies used to accomplish prerequisite and terminal objectives. The analysis was designed to clarify similarities and differences between the training programs,…

The article discusses 11 steps involved in good teaching and in developing individualized education programs for handicapped students. (CL)

This is an attempt to come up with the intermediate steps for moving from essentially traditional instructional situations toward realization of the ideal models or processes toward which most people in the field of performance/instructional technology are striving at any given time. (VT)

Evaluation of two methods, Stimulus Manipulation and Delay Feedback Only, for teaching four mildly handicapped students (ages 9-13) to solve missing minuend problems found both methods to be effective. However, systematic differences in error rate and long-term retention were observed, favoring the Stimulus Manipulation procedure. (Author/DB)

Significant differences were found favoring skill-deficient second-graders (N=10) provided with repeated preteaching trials on a selected component skill of a subtraction algorithm before they worked the entire algorithm over students (N=10) who, from the beginning of training, received systematic instruction on working the entire algorithm.…

Examined are teacher education priorities of a program whose goal was to have first grade teachers feel confident enough to retain learning disabled children in their regular public school classes. (GW)

Article is an attempt to state more explicitly and comprehensively the implications of writing behavioral objectives for choosing teaching strategies and for individualizing instruction. (Authors)

Applies a previously described theory of comprehension to a specific lesson, showing how 10 defined skills can be taught through reading a single selection. (MD)

The article describes the benefits of time delay in teaching disabled students both discrete and chained tasks, constant and progressive time-delay procedures, types of student responses, steps involved in implementing time-delay procedures in the classroom, and troubleshooting tips. A sample lesson plan on making a fruit-flavored drink is…

Discusses some of the complex questions differentiation raises that have been glossed over as unproblematical and questions some of the assumptions underlying differentiation that have remained unchallenged. Areas needing further research are discussed. (13 references) (CK)