It is difficult to account for the real and easily measured differences in verbal competence. Differential psychologists investigate basic traits from which observed behavior is thought to be generated, but if thinking is viewed as a problem in information handling, research will more profitably focus on the relationship between behavior in…

This module for the classroom teacher is intended to help the teacher realize specific aims in instructional practice. Objectives outlined for the teacher are: (1) to be able to distinguish between broad goals and instructional objectives; (2) to be able to identify the characteristics of an instructional objective; (3) to be able to describe the…

The paper proposes that when behavior change is the major target of an adult education program, the designer must consider three factors: (1) the four basic targets for behavior change efforts (behavior goals and plans, basic knowledge and skills needed for successful performance, physical environment, reinforcers of behavior); (2) individual…

The manual provides vocational and technical teachers with a review of the principles of learning which have application to their subject fields. Organized into three sections, the booklet offers: (1) a selected review of the literature related to how learning theory is applied to instruction; (2) principles of learning that have been identified…

Children learn a second language quickly and easily simply by being exposed to it. Adults generally learn more slowly and less well. It is hypothesized that the brain in youth is extremely plastic, but hardens with adolescence and adulthood and becomes less receptive. Children learn in an active way, during play, and the language is reinforced by…

This paper argues that a major aspect of intelligence is the ability to solve problems and that careful analysis of problem-solving behavior is a means of specifying many of the psychological processes that make up intelligence. The focus is on the mechanisms involved when, in the absence of complete instruction, a person must "invent" a new…

Numerous studies have demonstrated that disruptive classroom behavior can be decreased by delivering tokens contingent on periods of time during which children do not engage in it or by removing tokens contingent on its occurrence. To date, the best controlled of these studies have consistently reported the two procedures to be equally effective.…

Some educators are turning to the process of contingency management within a classroom as a short term, immediate motivator which can work for virtually every student, regardless of his/her final grade in the course. Contingency management consists of providing a set of alternatives from which those chosen by the student reward the students in…

An attempt is made in the present paper to resolve inconsistencies between the results of recent studies which have reported that bilingualism is associated with positive cognitive consequences and earlier studies which suggested that bilingualism might adversely affect cognitive and scholastic progress. Because recent studies involved balanced…

Students at Mountain View High School, California, are participating in an experimental foreign language program which is based on individualized instruction within a modular schedule. This collection of sample materials which students and parents receive reflects the goals and requirements of the program. Materials include: (1) program…

The development of learning theory and its application to computer-assisted instruction (CAI) are described. Among the early theoretical constructs thought to be important are E. L. Thorndike's concept of learning connectisms, Neal Miller's theory of motivation, and B. F. Skinner's theory of operant conditioning. Early devices incorporating those…

This study was conducted to determine the relative effectiveness of the use of three different combinations of enactive, ikonic and symbolic representation in teaching multiplication to third-grade students. Ninety students in three classrooms were instructed in accordance with the assigned treatment for nine weeks. Groups were equated using the…

The objective of this practicum was to apply mastery learning principles in the development of a computer-based instruction lesson on "Divisibility Rules," which was designed for students preparing for the General Education Development (GED) examination. This practicum sought to demonstrate that computer-based instruction which follows…

The need for a different conception of research from the classical statistical approach to theory development in social studies teaching is addressed in this paper. In a schema of dominant orientations of social theory, the outstanding epistemological features of the three main schools of contemporary metascience are outlined. Three systems of…

Foreign language teaching is currently in a state of flux, as is natural when any discipline is undergoing basic theoretical and procedural revision. The behaviorist trends applied to the audio-lingual habit theory were a major break-through for foreign language teaching, and skills ignored by the grammar-translation method were brought to the…