Studied whether there are positive relationships between student perception of instructor empathy and perceived learning outcomes. Students (N=615) in an interpersonal communication class responded to questionnaires in two succeeding quarters. Data analysis supported previous research that empathic teacher behavior facilitates more meaningful…

Concludes that handicapped children are deficient in listener-adapted communication but that mainstreaming provides an opportunity to improve these skills, especially as age increases. Mainstreamed handicapped children, however, still do not reach the level of communicative skills of nonhandicapped children. (PD)

Presents an outline of 10 of the most important student skills needed in the social studies classroom. These skills include reading, writing, listening, speaking, map reading, critical thinking and problem solving, organizing, evaluating, social interacting, and observing. (KC)

The Statements about Schools Inventory, designed to assess how well a school is satisfying the needs of its students, has gathered evidence that alternative schools come closer to satisfying student needs than do conventional schools. (Author/WD)

Procedures for programing computers to deal with handicapped students, problems in selective attention, visual discrimination, reaction time differences, short term memory, transfer and generalization, recognition of mistakes, and social skills are discussed. (CL)

Responses in the parent interviews revealed that many trainees were still home based and family dependent. Some parents were prolonging the dependence of their young people rather than reinforcing the independent living skills training at the center. (Author)

Medical students' interpersonal and communication skills were assessed over the course of their first two years of medical training at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. Results of first and second video analyses indicated a significant decline in student process-oriented skills. (Author/MLW)

Early childhood educators have long recognized the value of early socialization experiences provided by the peer group. Early peer experiences contribute to social development in that the importance of cooperating, sharing, and competing among equals is learned for the first time. (JN)

Research on the use of peer modeling (filmed and live) and peer social initiations with withdrawn exceptional children is considered. Advantages of the social initiation approach include application with children with a limited behavioral repertoire, no requirement for adult intervention, and the opportunity to use handicapped peers as trainers.…

This article discusses cognitive development research as it relates to social competence. Two research approaches are summarized: (1) attempts to isolate sequential stages in the development of social cognition, and (2) conceptualization of broad organizing principles hypothesized to mediate all social cognition. (Author/SJL)

Discusses, with quotations from various writings, the basic human needs of individuals and survival needs of the larger society, leading to the knowledge considered most worth having, and ending with delineation of that knowledge most worth having within the purview of home economics and implications for home economics teachers. (MF)

Compares three popular approaches to experiential learning with respect to purpose, philosophy, format, leadership, language, and strategy. Each is uniquely designed to elicit highly emotional involvement, confessions of failure in the past and immediate present, and attempts to communicate with integrity. (JMF)

Argues that psychology instructors should capitalize upon students' eagerness for self-disclosure and that course material should be channeled toward meeting this need. Examines the use of specific personality inventory tests measuring memory, motivation, creativity, and emotion as a link between course material and the students' personal…

A group of 30 moderately and mildly retarded young adults (study group) was compared with a group of borderline retarded (control group) adults on employability, behavior at work, social integration and social skills, personaity, and self-concept. (Author/PHR)

A review of 36 empirical studies on teaching interviewing skills in various health profession programs is presented. The focus is on teaching skills which consider the interpersonal skills relevant to effective clinical interviewing. Programs are compared and implications for future research are discussed. (GDC)