It is often said that a dog is a best friend. In fact, after cattle, dogs are the oldest domesticated animals. Dogs have lived with humans for over 10,000 years and have been selectively bred for various types of domestication. Domesticated dogs have performed many roles in society throughout history-rescue dogs, hunting dogs, guide dogs, and…

In this study, we examined why observational learning positively affects learning outcomes of new writing tasks. In this study, we focused on the effects of observational learning on the temporal organization (i.e., orchestration) of writing processes and on the subsequent influence on text quality. An experiment was set up in which participants…

During the coming years the need for professionals to work with the nation's elders will increase several fold. This will place a great responsibility on university educational programs to prepare enough qualified future professionals to work in the greatly expanding field of gerontology. Prior research has identified several nonacademic and…

Inspired by studies of apprenticeship and theories of situated learning, this study argues that learning should be understood in relation to ongoing social practice. Using interview material and participant observation studying piano students' learning at the Academy of Music in Aarhus, it describes how transparency and access to the music culture…

A multiple probe study across behaviors, replicated across students, assessed the effectiveness of simultaneous prompting (SP) in a small group teaching arrangement on teaching (a) to show the provinces, rivers, and border countries of Turkey on a map and (b) to expressively identify the names of the symbols which are usually used in math.…

This guide is designed to provide elementary school teachers with safe learning activities concerning bees and wasps. The following topics are included: (1) the importance of a positive teacher attitude towards bees and wasps; (2) special problems posed by paper wasps; (3) what to do when a child is bothered by a wasp; (4) what to do if a wasp…

Studied two groups of preschoolers taught observational skills by the Montessori method or Science-A Process Approach (SAPA) curriculum. Found no significant difference in competence level between groups, but the SAPA children acquired observational skills in a shorter period of time. (MLH)

The present experiment was designed to provide a test of observational learning (acquisition) and broad imitative behavior (performance) following exposure to models who were controllers or rival consumers of resources. (Author)

Current social learning theory proposes that motor skill information which is acquired by means of observational strategies is stored cognitively in the form of a conceptual representation. The latter is then said to be used as a basis for response production and as a standard for response corrections which occur as a function of performance…

Peer interactions are important in the socialization of aggression, sex-role learning, and the internalization of moral values, and contribute to the development of cognitive and language skills. Evidence is presented to support the contention that peer modeling is among the most powerful social influences to which children are exposed.…

This paper describes two experiments designed to determine whether traditional effects of adult nurturance on children's incidental imitation could be obtained using a within-subject design and a functional (rather than operational) definition of nurturance. Four preschool children served as subjects, with four others serving as cross-sex…

Observational learning requires exposure to modeling cues, acquisition of the ability to reproduce what is seen or heard, and acceptance of the model's behavior as a guide for one's own actions, as imitation, counter-imitation, disinhibition, or inhibition. In this overview paper, the author considers a large body of research, especially that…

Twenty first-graders observed an adult model perform a quantity conservation task. The children were then tested on a series of generalization tasks immediately, after one week, and after three months. The results suggested that the social experience of observation appeared to activate a cognitive restructuring of the children's mental operations.…

Intended for parents, the article presents guidelines for designing and implementing a program for teaching the exceptional child, particularly the moderately or severely retarded, to imitate. ( SBH)

This study examined the differential effects on a learning task of two different types of comprehension measures. (SB)