The study found the on-task behavior of one of two high-achieving as well as of a low-achieving fifth graders increased when the difficulty level of mathematics problems was manipulated to insure a greater than 70 percent success rate. (DB)

Demonstrates how Bayesian reasoning can be used to adjust the length of computer-guided practice exercises and computer-based tests to help make mastery or nonmastery decisions. Individualization of instruction is discussed, and the results of an empirical study that used the sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) are presented. (25 references)…

A videotape was shown to 648 eighth and ninth grade technology education students. Eight groups of classes received different treatments: test announcements before or after viewing and administration of tests or review of material. Scores on teacher-made tests improved only when announcement was followed by time-on-task learning or the promised…

An auditory inspection time (AIT) test, pitch discrimination tests, and verbal and non-verbal mental ability tests were administered to 59 undergraduates and 119 12-year-old school children. Results indicate that AIT correlations with intelligence are due to AIT being an index of information intake speeds. (TJH)

Two elementary school students with emotional/behavioral challenges increased task engagement and reduced disruptive behavior when allowed to choose academic tasks. The effects of choice making were distinguished from preference, by yoking a no-choice phase to a previous choice-making condition; the yoked control phase was inferior to the…

Investigated effects of art history enrichment of art therapy task on anxiety, time on task, and art product quality among 13 chronic adult psychiatric day hospital patients. Results indicated art history enrichment task reduced anxiety and increased time on task. Art organization level tended toward significant increase compared with control…

Functional communication training, extinction, and response chaining decreased escape-maintained aberrant behavior and increased task participation of 3 youth, ages 10 through 15, with moderate mental retardation, 2 of whom also had autism. Task escape was contingent on verbally responding and completing task steps. Behavior chaining also…

This study, involving 11 young children with mild disabilities, found that, on reduction of teacher attention, children in 2 classrooms performed their reading tasks appropriately whereas children in the third classroom did not maintain on-task behavior with minimal teacher support. On implementation of a simple checksheet procedure, three of the…

This study of 241 students found that at-risk low-socioeconomic status (SES) students involved in classwide peer tutoring from grades 1-3 spent more time in academic instruction and engagement and performed better on Metropolitan Achievement Test subtests than an at-risk control group and a nonrisk comparison group of higher SES students.…

Describes a study that examined the relationships between student perceptions of classroom interaction and the actual amount of time allocated for interaction in a distance education interactive television course for elementary school science teachers taught at the University of Hawaii. Correlations with levels of student satisfaction are also…

Describes a study of undergraduates that compared three strategies for indicating links in a hypermedia system to determine their effect on learner navigation and learner perceptions of ease of use. Highlights include three linking display types; the density of links; elaboration types; time intervals; and implications for hypermedia system…

Describes two studies conducted in the United Kingdom that tested the effectiveness of flowcharts versus contingency statements for solving complex problems, one with secondary school students and one with senior citizens. Two measures of effectiveness are considered, speed and accuracy; and the effects of practice upon using the materials are…

This study found that, in a task context, differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) effectively reduced problem behavior and increased task performance of 2 adolescents with severe disabilities (ages 15 and 19), whereas a time-out procedure was ineffective. In a leisure context, time-out was effective while DRO was ineffective.…

Examined natural behavior contingencies as mechanisms by which peers influence children's school motivation. Found that the more students were motivated, the more likely they were to receive approval from peer-group members following active, on-task behaviors. The less students were motivated, the more they received disapproval from nonmembers…

Examines the effect of using "Learning Expedition", an integrated learning system based on computer-assisted learning, on the performance of mathematics students ages 11 to 13. Results of multiple-regression methods, used to estimate the statistical relationship between examination scores and time spent using "Learning Expedition," show a…