In this study, 24 individuals (ages 6-37) with down syndrome had to learn a symbolic conditional discrimination task. Participants showed better terminal accuracy and faster learning of the task when the alternative correct responses were each followed by unique different outcomes than when nondifferential outcomes were arranged. (Contains…

Proposes that literacy learning is social, recursive, personal, and idiosyncratic. Suggests that learning contracts orchestrate child centeredness and increase independence. Concludes that contracts connect previously isolated content area with the personal interests and needs of students, and establishes a classroom climate in which students are…

Reviews Goetze's dissertation investigating two factors that affect accuracy in young children's singing: the presence of other voices in unison singing, compared with individual singing, and the use of text rather than a neutral syllable. States that the research is of high quality leading directly to classroom practice. (LS)

Discusses the problems of a live Internet demonstration and describes guidelines for making a canned presentation. Highlights include organization, slides, paper handouts, presentation software, screen images, electronic text and graphics, local copies of home pages, editing, exploring services, and testing performance. (AEF)

Results with 101 undergraduates indicate that students interacting with a knowledge map perform better than students using a text, and students who are given a strategy for using the communication aid (knowledge map or text) performed better than those not given a strategy. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (SLD)

This paper is intended to help instructional designers who work in the technical arena when moving from tasks to performance objectives. Guidelines are provided for both the analysis and the design phases, and a task analysis worksheet is provided. (three references) (DB)

Two persons (ages 15-24) with developmental handicaps were taught by 2 therapists under varying punishment conditions. Results indicated that the task being taught was mastered by each subject only when the therapist delivering punishment was teaching and that each subject made more eye-to-face contact when the therapist delivering punishment was…

This study evaluated the importance of active student responding while using the microcomputer to deliver the contingencies of programed instruction. Results from 75 undergraduates found that students who covertly responded to frame blanks or were required to type frame answers performed better on a posttest than students who passively read…

Asserts that the scientific literacy of the average person can be evaluated adequately only with a definition that involves thinking processes and ignores test-taking skills. (PR)

According to responses from 145 secondary agriculture teachers and 2,400 students, students thought instructional clarity increased when teachers actively involved them. Systematic differences between teachers' and students' perceptions (especially teachers rating themselves more highly than students did) indicate a need for teachers to reflect on…

Describes seven topics that should be included in a course for teachers on performance assessment and provides some ideas for teaching them. The topics range from assessment selection to recognizing inappropriate, unethical, or illegal assessment methods and uses. (SLD)

Suggests that private consulting is a beneficial tool in classroom teaching. Reports a concerted effort to use private consulting experience in teaching a public relations course, and to evaluate the effectiveness of using the instructor's current consulting project as a teaching tool. Suggests use of real examples had a positive effect on…

Examines the use of the Performance Analysis for Training (PAT) model to assess performance needs in an organization that implements integrated manufacturing processes. Results showed that the PAT model was a useful guide for assessing performance needs and that the process and product of the performance analysis was influenced by the…

Examines if externally imposed achievement goals influence what children learn from procedural instruction. Third- and 4th-grade children's goals were manipulated toward either learning or performance (N=77). Both initially and after a 2-week period, children who were given either goal were more likely to extend their knowledge beyond the taught…

The history of drama education can be read as a series of arguments over dichotomies: process and product, theatre and classroom, artist and teacher, and so forth. One of the more recent discussions has focused on technology versus live classroom drama. At the heart of these discussions is an attempt to define the aesthetic dimensions of the…