Discusses the process of generalization. Illustrates the process by generalizing the classic problem of how a farmer can get a fox, a goose, and a bag of corn across a river in a boat that is large enough only for him and one of the three items. (MDH)

Three high-school students with severe disabilities were taught to initiate and maintain a conversation independently across a variety of school settings with nonhandicapped students as communication partners. The conversation initiation and "turntaking" skills generalized to conversation opportunities in other settings and with other…

The effects of social interaction skill interventions on the social behavior of four preschool children with behavioral handicaps were evaluated. Findings indicated unique effects for social skills training and contingency management intervention. Results are discussed in relation to the role of reciprocal interaction and behavioral trapping for…

Infants were tested for recognition and discrimination of expressions. Ten-month olds familiar with a mix of happy and surprised expressions demonstrated generalized discrimination of positive affect. Only after seven months does dependence on the presence of expression-specific features for affect recognition and discrimination diminish. (BC)

Five first grade language-impaired children were trained on the phonological and perceptual components of the retrieval process, segmenting words, manipulating word segments, and forming visual and auditory images. The children improved in naming untrained pictures, but five children whose training focused on semantic associations and organization…

Examines the paradox of case studies' abilities to understand the complexity in particular contexts while not being generalizable. Argues that the pressure for quantification and multisite case study design in policy research has weakened the original utility of the case study method for understanding complex educational phenomena. (DSK)

The effect of a program to develop knowledge and skills for self-determination in adolescents with autism was examined through students' in-class contributions and through pre-post interviews with 23 adolescents and parents. Following the program, students initiated more discussion and used a number of skills and concepts in other settings.…

A study involving three adolescents with mental retardation investigated the efficacy of videotaped instruction for acquisition and generalization of functional sight words used in a community grocery store. Results indicate the intervention was effective in fostering acquisition of functional words in the classroom, as well as generalization to…

This study tested three hypothesized mechanisms through which explanations might facilitate problem-solving strategy generalization in kindergarteners through second graders. Results suggested that explanations facilitated generalization through the creation of novel goal structures that enabled children to persist in use of the new strategy…

Explores the use of video-based multimedia simulations for teaching functional skills to persons with developmental disabilities and discusses future considerations, design issues, and implications. Considerations address the importance of appropriate role modeling and the combination of video-based simulation and in vivo training to foster…

This study examined effects of text listening strategy instruction on listening and reading comprehension skills of 95 9- to 11-year-old poor readers of whom half were also poor listeners. Results indicated significant program effects on strategic listening and strategic reading posttests. Although improvements were maintained, transfer to more…

A study used the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities to assess the abilities of three adults with mental retardation in order to reduce aberrant behavior. There was a higher frequency of aberrant responses during training sessions with training tasks above or below a participant's assessment level on the test. (Contains references.) (CR)

Examined preschoolers' ability to map novel adjectives to object properties in two experiments. Found that 4-year-olds could extend novel adjectives from target to matching test object whether objects were drawn from same, or different, basic level categories. If 3-year-olds' first extended a novel adjective to objects in the same basic level…

Describes and evaluates a holistic resocialization program used by the Texas Youth Commission that has been integrated into the state's education, treatment, and correctional programs for incarcerated youth. Goals of the program are to help ensure that the youth can generalize the skills they gain through these processes to situations outside the…

Whether strategy training in the use of rime spelling units was an effective intervention for children with reading disabilities was studied with 36 disabled readers and 20 comparisons. Training in the use of rime spelling units produced generalized achievement gains and transfer to other materials. The superior posttreatment performance of the…