The study attempted to decrease the talking-out behavior and increase the pre-writing skills of a 7-year-old educable mentally retarded boy in a special school for children with orthopedic handicaps. Differential reinforcement of other (DRO) behaviors was used during 30 minutes a day four times a week. Appropriate behaviors of the subjects and…

Collecting time-on-task data is necessary in order to research methods for increasing student time-on-task and to provide feedback to teachers on what teaching behaviors produce high levels of on-task behaviors in students. A student and a teacher behavior data collection instrument developed for research in the area of academic learning time is…

This study measures performance frequency of leadership tasks of approximately 20 percent of Colorado's principals. Principals most experienced do not differ from others on the frequency assessment scale, yet spend more time on instructional leadership activities, which range from teacher support (professional growth opportunities, rewards) and…

The observational study investigated the process of mainstreaming 32 learning handicapped children (grades 4-5) into regular education programs. Ss were enrolled in special day classes and mainstreamed for approximately one hour per day. Systematic observations focused on the handicapped student, nonhandicapped students, and the regular class…

Research has identified several aspects of effective teacher behavior, as measured by student performance. Three aspects of effective teacher behavior are in the areas of instruction, management, and acceptance. Instructionally, teachers should try to provide more variety to deal with different learning styles; they should ask purposeful questions…

This three-section paper describes a course for teachers on classroom management, offered at the University of Houston (Texas). The first section describes the course's analytic-pluralistic approach to classroom management. The four-stage process is outlined, in which the teacher: (1) specifies classroom conditions desirable to foster student…

Twenty-seven second-grade students were observed during two reading periods to examine the nature of instruction and academic responding time for students in high, middle, and low reading groups. Across all groups, it was found that students spent about 20 minutes of a 120-minute typical reading period actively engaged in academic responding, and…

Homework is one of the most important practices for establishing a successful academic environment. From the literature and an elementary school teacher survey, seven purposes of homework were identified: practice, participation, personal development, parent-child relations, policy, public relations, and punishment. Using data from elementary…

This packet provides the concerned teacher and supervisor with materials for learning how to determine the percentage of time their students are actively engaged on task. The materials include definitions of key terms, a list of situations during which students must be considered unengaged, sample forms to be used in classroom observations of…

North Carolina students taking statewide achievement tests in grades 6 and 9 were ased two questions about the amount of time they spend doing homework: how much time do you spend doing assigned homework, and how much time do you spend doing work which is not assigned or required by the teacher? The results were compared with their scores on the…

A self regulation package was used to teach self control skills to eight learning disabled (LD) and two nonLD adolescents in an experimental high school setting. Students had histories of noncompliance and were described as nonfunctional in their previous schools. Treatment consisted of behavior contracting, self recording, self monitoring, and…

Instructional time, especially time on task, appears to have a positive relationship to academic achievement. (MKM)

The exploratory study examined computer use during free time in two classrooms for mildly and moderately retarded 3- to 5-year-olds. Results indicated that computer use was a popular activity choice, that children used the computer for a relatively long time, that they preferred software with excellent graphics, and that they rarely chose…

The study compared performance on the Continuous Performance Task by 18 elementary grade children having attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH), 15 conduct disordered, 26 mixed conduct disorder and ADDH, 15 emotionally disturbed, 22 learning disabled, and 15 nondisabled students. Hyperactive children did not demonstrate a unique…

The school survival skills of 36 learning disabled (LD) high school students were compared with those of nonhandicapped and emotionally disturbed students. Although LD students tended to be ill prepared, inattentive, and not to volunteer comments or questions, their performance was not significantly different from that of the normal control group.…