The two primary purposes of this book are to extend information about children's language learning and to look at existing notions of how children acquire language by considering what is meant by linguistic competence. The introductory chapter presents an account of two approaches to the study of language acquisition and outlines the author's…

Two assumptions in support of learner-controlled computer-assisted instruction (CAI) are that (1) instruction administered under learner control will be less aversive than if administered under program control, and (2) the student is sufficiently aware of his learning state to make, in most instances, his own instructional decisions. Some 130…

The program description gives basic information on the one-year social studies course focusing on anthropology, designed primarily for intermediate-grade (4-6) students but applicable to secondary students. While the long range objective is for students to contemplate the nature of man and the forces that shape his humanity, some terminal…

A proposal to formulate nomothetic theories -- general statements or scientific laws -- in a way to allow for an immediate test of individual differences is presented. The need for such a proposal is cited in recent developments in structural model building in the area of memory called information processing and in the concern to bring individual…

To determine the effects of instruction and practice in a self-instructional program that had previously proven to be effective, 52 undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups. One received the entire instructional program, the second received only instructional cues and examples, the third only the practice portion, and…

The validity of certain standardized tests may be affected by the short-term memory load therein and its relation to a child's short-term memory capacity. Factors of testing which increase a test's memory load and consequently interfere with comprehension are discussed. It is hypothesized that a test which strains the short-term memory capacity of…

An overview of language instruction on the national level and specifically in Nevada during the late 1950's and the early 1960's reveals five major factors which contributed to the changing trends. The author discusses: (1) the new understanding of the nature of language, (2) changing philosophies and objectives, (3) modern foreign language and…

The COPED project linked behavioral scientists and educators in various geographical regions to school systems in the same regions for the purpose of planning and promoting change, understanding the processes by which change occurs, and evaluating types of change efforts. The enterprise evolved into four major strands: (1) the conceptual effort,…

Heart rate change was used as the index of the orienting response (OR) of 102 kindergarten children. Heart rate change was measured by recording heart rate upon the presentation of tones. 15 similar tones followed by a different, 16th tone, were used. From this data the children were divided into high, medium, or low orientors. Following the…

This study examined effects of inference quizzes on inferential thinking. A total of 213 grade 8 history students were randomly assigned to treatments within classrooms. Group R took eight weekly quizzes requiring recall of stated facts. Group I took 8 quizzes requiring students to draw inferences about interest groups. Teachers had no knowledge…

This report was designed mainly as an aid to developing staff training for field personnel engaged in social or economic development, particularly as this may relate to disadvantaged areas. In one aspect, it is a descriptive report of the findings and experiences of a pilot-training project carried out from the fall of 1967 to the fall of 1969 by…

The learning effects of display motion in procedural learning tasks were examined in two studies. In the first study, two videotapes with identical sound tracks were constructed--one using the recorded television camera motion, the other substituting a parallel series of still camera shots. The results showed a superiority of the motion condition.…

Four experiments (involving a total of 158 children) demonstrated observationally-induced learning effects on multidimensional conservation tasks using brief, single session training. First grade samples of middle class Anglo-American, and economically disadvantaged Mexican-American children displayed gains in vicariously-induced conservation as…

In order to investigate the effect of reinforcement on learning, 21 disadvantaged black children, 4 to 5 years of age, were divided among three treatment groups. Group I children received only feedback (information) as to the correctness or incorrectness of their responses. Group II children received a raisin for each correct response, and group…

The relationship between a person's behavior and the interaction with his immediate environment is discussed as a shaping process. The behavior that is shaped is always that which is directly and crucially involved in the choice he makes, the response he makes, and the way that response affects him in the given situation. The abstraction process…