Written language skills are an important goal within programs of language development for students with mental disabilities. Specific facets should be considered in the teaching of writing, such as drawing on previous linguistic experiences, viewing writing as both process and product, emphasizing writing as a form of communication, tying writing…

Social LIFE (Social Learning of Independence through Functional Experiences), a game used as a means of developing new social skills in a variety of settings and social situations and involving players and a mediator (instructor), is described. Appropriate responses to the game situations are rewarded by points or play money. Target behaviors or…

This discussion of personal experiences and training during a cataloger's first year begins by discussing four primary objectives in training for the cataloging of original monographs: (1) searching for suitable cataloging records using the online databases; (2) using AACR2 (Anglo American Cataloging Rules 2) standards in cataloging a monograph;…

A Youth Internship Program (YIP) has been developed at seven community colleges of the State University of New York (SUNY) to improve the employability potential of unemployed, out-of-school, economically disadvantaged youth between 16 and 21 years of age. Components of the seven programs examined differ, but all address six main activities:…

The subject of this report is the impact of microelectronic technology on the process of skill formation with particular reference to two industries: banking and textiles. A recent research effort sought to identify and understand how changes in the structure and nature of skills were affecting the process of skill formation and the balance of…

In order to learn to write, physically disabled children often require special seating systems that align their bodies and improve their muscle tone. The writing paper must be placed in an appropriate position and must be stabilized. The writing tools should be as interesting as possible to keep the child's attention focused on writing, and can…

The National Child Development Study is a longitudinal survey of all people who were born in the week of March 3-9, 1958 in England, Scotland, and Wales--approximately 17,000 people. A project used information collected from 12,500 of these people through interviews in 1981 when they were 23 years old. The project sought to determine (1) what…

This study investigated the extent to which participation by high school students in a computer programming course leads to improved critical thinking skills, and whether a significant difference exists in critical thinking skill development between participants in Pascal and BASIC classes. Three groups of high school students were tested using…

Most recent research on the impact of the new computer technology on skills has been focused on developing arguments that either support or contradict the "deskilling" thesis put forth by some economists and sociologists in the mid- and late 1970s. Although this research remains inconclusive, some generalizations can be suggested. The research…

This book describes specific ways for teachers to assist their students in mastering skills needed for success in school. It is based upon the belief that thinking can be improved, human intellect sharpened, and academic ability increased. A case for study skills is made in Chapter I. Chapter II provides guidelines for the immediate improvement of…

This report describes the Career Planning Center, formerly the Institute for Vocational Readiness program, run by the Student Services Division of the Milwaukee Area Technical College. It briefly describes services offered by the center which are focused around a comprehensive diagnostic approach, offering students help in developing a positive…

A guide to developing lesson plans for classroom instruction in English as a second language (ESL) based on learning style theory draws on the experience of the Arlington County Schools (Virginia). It begins by describing the theory of learning styles, their applications, and the process of developing lesson plans by "4matting," which postulates…

This workbook contains 22 exercises designed to strengthen health occupations students' knowledge of parliamentary procedure. Exercises consist of fill-in, short essay, and true or false questions, and practice in conducting meetings according to parliamentary procedure. Five appendixes to the workbook include a summary of parliamentary procedure,…

The communicative approach to language teaching represents a widening of scope in one's view of the goal and range of activities rather than a rejection of earlier approaches or content. However, it does require that all ideas and techniques be reevaluated in terms of this wider conception of communication and learning. One method for combining…

An examination of the reasons behind the strong evidence that practice in sentence combining leads to overall superiority in writing began with the development of a more precise syntactic instrument than had been used previously and a new set of criteria for rhetorical analysis which focused on unity, organization, succinctness, and cohesiveness.…