Examines the effects of type of instructional control (learner control versus program control) and program mode (full versus lean) on the achievement, option use, time in the program, and attitudes of higher-ability and lower-ability university students using a computer-delivered instructional program. Discusses implications for instructional…

An unobtrusive self-monitoring procedure was used to teach four elementary school students with serious emotional disturbances (SED) to monitor their behavior while working independently on newly taught materials. A modest positive relationship was found between self-monitoring and the target behaviors measured (percentage of on-task behavior…

This study surveyed the time taken on learning activities by students enrolled in five Open University, distance-taught mathematics and computing courses. Students averaged an hour on each activity, more time overall than expected by course designers. Students motivated to learn the material spent more time than those motivated to merely pass the…

A reversal design was used in two elementary classrooms to examine effects of cooperative learning groups (CLG) in reading instruction for three students with autism and their general education peers. Results demonstrated increased reading gains, academic engagement, and peer interaction during CLG conditions. Results also documented the…

Suggests an activity for the evaluation of students' information skills learned through the year that involves cooperation between teachers and the library media specialist to provide students with questions to be correctly answered for extra privileges. Questions on particular subjects, using specific reference sources, and with time limits are…

Describes a study conducted at Jacksonville State University (Alabama) that compared the ERIC print index with the ERIC index in CD-ROM format in the areas of accuracy, time savings, and user satisfaction. Results show greater satisfaction with CD-ROM. Copies of the questionnaire and survey used are appended. (Author/LRW)

Individualized activity schedules were successfully used with a 4- year-old child with autism who attended an integrated public pre-school classroom. Graduated physical guidance and a system of most-to-least prompts were used during skill acquisition stages with teacher proximity and level of prompts being eventually faded. (Contains nine…

A 3-year study explored the development of the complexity of block constructions of 65 preschool children. Results indicated that the complexity of block constructions increased with age, the time the child was involved with block construction activities had a positive effect on complexity, and gender did not influence block construction…

A study examined the effect of an observation-feedback intervention on the rate of a teacher's behavior-specific praise of nine elementary students with emotional and behavioral disorders and the effect of increased rates of behavior-specific praise on students' on-task behavior, which increased when behavior-specific praise increased and…

The purpose of the study was to enhance classroom management in special education classrooms. "Affective teaching" was compared with "cognitive teaching" in 52 classrooms in Israel. Data was collected based on observations of three 90 minute lessons, equally divided into the two types of instruction. Results of MANOVA…

A counterbalanced, multiple-baseline, across-subjects design was used to determine if attention and performance monitoring had differential effects on the on-task and spelling study behavior of 6 elementary students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the general education classroom. Both self-monitoring of attention and…

For the past year we have been developing and implementing a program in which students design and construct remote operated vehicles. In this paper, we report on a pilot study that occurred over the course of an academic year in an inner city high school. Specifically, we have been investigating whether students learn meaningful science content…

Research has consistently demonstrated the importance of providing an appropriate level of challenge, called the instructional level, within curricular material. Although the instructional level is a generally well-defined and researched construct, much less data exist on the acquisition rate (AR) component of an appropriate level of challenge.…

This study presents time-and-task records of faculty and teaching assistants' time for comparable computer-aided design courses at two state universities in the midwestern United States. One course was taught at a distance and the other course was a conventional face-to-face course. Results indicate a distance course takes less time to teach than…

The conceptual frameworks of self-management and correspondence training are combined to develop a self-talk intervention to improve academic performances of four students with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD). This study examines the functional role of language as a verbal antecedent or self-management prompt in relationship to subsequent…