The Career Planning System (CPS), a highly structured microcomputer package designed to provide middle school age mildly handicapped students with individualized career exploration and career planning experiences, is described. Development of the system's three components (30 floppy disks, a student guide, and an instructor guide) and field…

The report discusses the nature and effectiveness, with mildly handicapped students, of the heuristic approach, an alternative to the behavioral technique that promotes opportunities for the child to explore materials and take an active role in problem solving. Theoretical support for the approach is cited for use with learning disabled and mildly…

The author elaborates on his own ideas and the reactions of other professionals to his earlier work, "A Radical Perspective on the Development of American Special Education with a Focus on the Concept of Learning Disabilities." A narrow reliance on psychology and medicine has contributed to current policy crises regarding identification…

The effectiveness of using volunteer reading tutors to work with students with reading difficulties was examined. Changes in academic engaged time, active responding time, achievement, and student attitude were assessed, along with information from tutor evaluations. Nine intervention and 8 control students (grades 3-5) with mild handicaps…

Collaborative consultation is presented as a model for vocational education programming for mildly handicapped adolescents, in which the teacher-consultant and the parent-consultee cooperatively solve problems through their shared expertise. A nine-step behavioral consultation model is described which facilitates collaborative consultation between…

The expanded role of the school counselor as "mainstreaming facilitator" is discussed in the context of the needs and characteristics of mainstreamed handicapped students. Topics addressed include the following: (1) counselor attitudes toward handicapped students and their parents; (2) the learning problems and behavioral characteristics of…

The 2-part student workbook for mainstreamed learning and mentally disabled high school students contains 12 units intended to provide supplementary instruction in the Contemporary Parenting Choices Curriculum in the home economics class. This unit, the first in the Relationships part of the workbook, focuses on self-understanding with individual…

The 2-part student workbook for mainstreamed learning and mentally disabled high school students contains 12 units intended to provide supplementary instruction in the Contemporary Parenting Choices Curriculum in the home economics class. This unit, the second in the Relationships part of the workbook, focuses on understanding others and includes…

The document describes the development and use of skill sequences in individualized education programs (IEPs) for mildly handicapped students. Developed to standardize format and terminology among teachers and parents, the sequences promote the continuity of instruction and the maintenance of consistent records. Sequences were developed for use…

The problem of dropouts among special education students is summarized. After a brief overview of the problem, various studies are cited indicating a substantially higher incidence of dropping out of high school prior to program completion for handicapped than for non-handicapped students. Implications and recommendations for educational policy…

Recent research and program development in the areas of metacognition and related teaching and learning strategies is the subject of this issue of the newsletter. The lead article reviews reasons for the current interest in cognition and metacognition, clarifies the concepts of cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction, and describes key…

This project report describes major features of the 2-year Student-Teacher Ratio Project, including objectives, personnel, activities, findings, and resulting products. The project's purpose was to conduct an analysis of the efficacy of current practices in student-teacher ratios for providing special education services to mildly handicapped…

A survey of 197 regular education teachers representing 35 states indicated few changes in structural arrangements or adaptive instruction as a function of having handicapped students in their classes. Elementary and secondary level teachers completed a 2-page survey which explored the use of other adults in the classroom, size of instructional…

The report summarizes research collected in the Portland State University Transition Project which researched the impact of job-club-type training upon the school-to-work transition outcomes for mildly handicapped high school students. The project also examined reuse of job search skills in the search for leisure opportunities. The project…

The booklet presents excerpts from a December 1984 conference (Washington, D.C.) on disabled and at-risk infants, toddlers, and their families. Parents' perspectives are offered on care for medically vulnerable infants and children (by the mother of a ventilator-assisted child), services for children with mild developmental delays (by a mother of…