Argues that the limited results achieved so far by empirical educational research are a result of a fundamental difference in the generalized concepts used therein and the abstract concepts used in the natural sciences. Discusses the work of Galileo and Newton to clarify the difference between generalization and abstraction. (DMM)

Individualized education programs for 48 students with mild mental retardation and behavior disorders attending integrated elementary and secondary schools were evaluated for current, appropriate practices regarding generalization, functionality, age-appropriateness, and curricular area of emphasis. Results indicated that, although appropriate…

Twenty grade 5 and 6 students with reading disabilities and 40 average readers were taught to use a self-questioning strategy for the identification of main ideas under either a standard instruction or a generalization induction condition. Results indicated the self-instructional training was equally effective under both conditions and performance…

The teaching of learning strategies calls for an understanding of the philosophy underlying cognitive strategy instruction as well as the specific instructional processes that promote student independence, provide information that students need to use strategies, and specifically teach generalization. This paper describes the content of strategies…

Based on the cognitive psychological theories of Vygotsky and Davydov, discusses the establishment of connections between mathematical elements, and the algorithmic rules that govern them, and children's spontaneous mathematical concepts. Presents examples that establish connections involving addition and subtraction, comparing numerical…

Describes an activity in which students use actual weather data to construct statistical experiments to determine whether a particular month of the year is colder than in the past. Students work in groups to make generalizations, formulate hypotheses, apply statistical methods to test the hypotheses, and draw conclusions. (MDH)

Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) list equivalency was examined using 24 listeners (ages 60 to 70) with sensorineural hearing impairments. Four speech conditions were tested, including a quiet condition and three noise conditions. Results found that for the three noise conditions, all lists were within 2dB of the means, indicating list equivalency.…

Compares skill-building exercises to preparing for a quiz in a traditional manner in order to determine which activity better encourages the generalization of course material to daily life. Finds that students who participated in the skill-building exercises performed better at applying concepts than students who studied for a quiz on identical…

Describes behavioral, cognitive, and constructivist strategies for children who have difficulty achieving phonological carryover. The advantages of constructivist strategies are pointed out and a model of self-regulated learning is applied to constructivist carryover activities which help these children achieve metacognitive abilities similar to…

This article discusses probable explanations for the weak effects in some meta-analyses that have investigated the effectiveness of social skills training (SST) for students with disabilities and offers specific recommendations for designing and producing more effective SST interventions. Treatment integrity issues, assessment issues, and…

Various commentaries are included in response to an article on filler syllables and their status in emerging grammar. (Author/VWL)

Three children with autism from a self-contained elementary special education class participated in daily free-play sessions with 15 nondisabled peers, who were sequentially individually trained in appropriate interaction skills. Generalized interactions between students with autism and nontrained peers began in all three groups after the…

Service learning practitioners must devote more resources to systematic, scientific assessment of service learning outcomes across students, faculty, institutions, and communities. Provides recommendations for generating meaningful information about service learning, including: evaluating hypotheses derived from theory, using multiple-item…

This article discusses strategies and procedures for promoting maintenance and generalization of student behavior changes resulting from interventions based on functional behavioral assessment. Strategies include self-management techniques, cognitive mediation, self-advocacy training, use of peers, booster training, environmental modifications,…

Four experiments with 4th, 5th, and 6th graders addressed conceptual change in response to anomalous data about empirical regularities in science. Impedance to conceptual change in response to anomalous data could potentially occur at any of four cognitive processes: observation, interpretation, generalization, or retention. In the four…