Peer facilitation of generalization in a preschool classroom

Two 5-year-old deviant preschoolers taught each other, as peer-tutors, to identify pictorial figures describing prepositional relationships. During training sessions monitored by the experimenter, the child in the peer-tutor role presented stimulus materials and provided consequences for the responses of the child in the tutee role. An assessment of generalization by each child to an academic classroom setting occurred each day. The data showed that the peer-tutor could facilitate generalization, when the tutee was probed in the peer-tutor's presence. However, it was found that the salience of the peer-tutor's presence was critical to this effect. In particular, when the peer presented the stimuli or offered occasional consequences for some correct responses, generalization was greatly enhanced.This research was supported in part by PHS Training Grant HD 00183, Research Grant MH 11739, and a Dissertation Fellowship from the University of Kansas. Appreciation is expressed to the classroom teachers, Scott Simmons, Janet Wedel, Sue Parker, and Tena McEachern, for their patience and cooperation in the implementation of these procedures, and to Merril Stokes, for her help and encouragement during this study.     

A descriptive analysis of potential reinforcement contingencies in the preschool classroom

In recent years, functional analysis methods have been extended to classroom settings; however, research has not evaluated the extent to which consequences presented during functional analysis are associated with problem behavior under naturalistic classroom conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether the social consequences commonly manipulated in functional analyses occur in typical preschool classrooms. A total of 14 children attending preschool programs participated in the study. Data were collected on the occurrence of antecedent events (e.g., presentation of tasks), child behaviors (e.g., aggression), and teacher responses (e.g., delivery of attention). The probability of various teacher responses given child behavior was then calculated and compared to the response-independent probabilities of teacher responses. Attention was found to be the most common classroom consequence (100% of children), followed by material presentation (79% of children), and escape from instructional tasks (33% of children). Comparisons of conditional and response-independent probabilities showed that the probability of teacher attention increased given the occurrence of problem behavior for all children, suggesting that a contingency existed between these two events. Results suggest that functional analyses that test the effects of attention, escape, and access to materials on problem behavior may be appropriate for preschool settings.     

Comparison of components of the Good Behavior Game in a preschool classroom

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an effective intervention package for decreasing disruptive behavior in various populations and environments. There is, however, limited research evaluating the GBG with preschoolers. Furthermore, few studies have evaluated the effects of components of the GBG, and of those that have, most have done so only after exposure to the GBG package. We evaluated the effects (a) of the GBG on disruptive behavior of preschoolers during group instruction and (b) the major components of the GBG before and after implementation of the GBG package (c) at both the group and individual level. Results suggest that the GBG package was necessary for decreasing disruptive behavior. However, after exposure to the GBG, a response‐independent contingency was effective for maintaining low levels of disruptive behavior at both the group and individual level.     

Q-sort assessment of attachment security during the preschool years: links from home to school

This study investigated relations among preschoolers' secure-base behavior with mother at home, stressful family conditions, and qualities of developing relationships with peers and teachers in preschool. Preschool-age children (N = 94; 51 boys and 43 girls) and their mothers were observed during multiple home visits, and their security of attachment was assessed with the Attachment Q-Set. Children in families with lower levels of stress had more secure attachment relationships with mothers. Both boys and girls who were less securely attached to their mothers expressed significantly more anger-aggression in preschool. For boys, higher levels of family stress were also significantly related to anger-aggression and to social competence in preschool. In addition, boys who were more securely attached to their mothers were more securely attached to their preschool teachers and were more popular with peers in preschool.     

Counting on fine motor skills: links between preschool finger dexterity and numerical skills

Finger counting is widely considered an important step in children's early mathematical development. Presumably, children's ability to move their fingers during early counting experiences to aid number representation depends in part on their early fine motor skills (FMS). Specifically, FMS should link to children's procedural counting skills through consistent repetition of finger‐counting procedures. Accordingly, we hypothesized that (a) FMS are linked to early counting skills, and (b) greater FMS relate to conceptual counting knowledge (e.g., cardinality, abstraction, order irrelevance) via procedural counting skills (i.e., one–one correspondence and correctness of verbal counting). Preschool children (N = 177) were administered measures of procedural counting skills, conceptual counting knowledge, FMS, and general cognitive skills along with parent questionnaires on home mathematics and fine motor environment. FMS correlated with procedural counting skills and conceptual counting knowledge after controlling for cognitive skills, chronological age, home mathematics and FMS environments. Moreover, the relationship between FMS and conceptual counting knowledge was mediated by procedural counting skills. Findings suggest that FMS play a role in early counting and therewith conceptual counting knowledge.     

Applying "group" contingencies to the classroom study behavior of preschool children

A group of 12 children were enrolled in a preschool class. During the first experimental stage they participated in special events contingent on token earning. Tokens were acquired by engaging in a variety of study behaviors. After a level of study behavior was established under this contingency, the special events were provided noncontingently. Study behavior declined throughout the noncontingent stage. Reestablishing the original contingencies produced an immediate return to the initial level of study behavior. Noncontingent special events reduced the amount of independent study, group participation, and cooperative study. The study behavior of each child was altered in the same direction, though differences in the magnitude of effects from child to child were observed.     

Effects of classroom age composition on the play and social behaviors of preschool children

Preschool children enrolled in same- and mixed-age day care classrooms were observed during free play to examine patterns of social and play behavior. In mixed-age rooms, there was more interactive-functional play, for both older and younger children, more dramatic play and negative interactions for younger children, and a tendency for older children to be onlookers. In the same-age rooms, there was more conversation and more parallel-functional interaction for both older and younger children. While previous research has emphasized the benefits of mixed-age rooms, the current research indicates that some costs may also be involved.     

The development of instructional control over classroom activities of deviant preschool children

Differential reinforcement of compliance with teacher invitations to complete a specific academic task was applied to three extremely negativistic children in a special preschool class. For each child, this technique resulted in clear and useful increases in compliance as it was applied. In addition, the technique produced a greater diversity of sampling the available tasks by all children, enabling them to contact instructional materials they had previously avoided. The reinforcement system, contingent access to free playtime, materials, and a snack, mediated by a token, was thus demonstrated to be an effective contingency. In the case of two children whose compliance was not maximized by differential reinforcement alone, further increases in compliance were produced by combining a 1-min timeout for noncompliance with the differential reinforcement procedure.     

Linking preschool language and sustained attention with adolescent achievement through classroom self-reliance

This study examined self-reliant classroom behaviors during middle childhood as a mechanism through which early language and sustained attention become associated with academic achievement in adolescence. Participants were enrolled in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1364). Path analyses revealed that preschool language and sustained attention predicted self-reliant classroom behaviors during middle childhood and that self-reliant classroom behaviors predicted changes in math achievement in adolescence. Self-reliant classroom behaviors mediated the relations of preschool sustained attention and linguistic ability with adolescent math achievement, but not reading achievement. These findings extend research highlighting the importance of self-reliant classroom behaviors for children's academic outcomes.     

The role of emotion knowledge in the links between shyness and children's socio‐emotional functioning at preschool

The present study investigated the potential protective role of components of emotion knowledge (i.e., emotion recognition, situation knowledge) in the links between young children's shyness and indices of socio‐emotional functioning. Participants were n = 163 children (82 boys and 81 girls) aged 23–77 months (M = 53.29, SD = 14.48), recruited from preschools in Italy. Parents provided ratings of child shyness and teachers rated children's socio‐emotional functioning at preschool (i.e., social competence, anxiety‐withdrawal, peer rejection). Children were also interviewed to assess their abilities to recognize facial emotional expressions and identify situations that affect emotions. Among the results, shyness was positively related to anxiety‐withdrawal and peer rejection. In addition, emotion recognition was found to significantly moderate the links between shyness and preschool socio‐emotional functioning, appearing to serve a buffering role. For example, at lower levels of emotion recognition, shyness was positively associated with both anxiety‐withdrawal and rejection by peers, but at higher levels of emotion recognition, these associations were attenuated. Results are discussed in terms of the protective role of emotion recognition in promoting shy children's positive socio‐emotional functioning within the classroom context.     

The impact of brief teacher training on classroom management and child behavior in at-risk preschool settings: Mediators and treatment utility

Teachers from fourteen classrooms were randomly assigned to an adaptation of Incredible Years (IY) teacher training or to teacher training-as-usual. Observations were made of the behavior of 136 target preschool boys and girls nominated by teachers as having many or few conduct problems. Peer and teacher behavior were observed at baseline and post training. IY training resulted in increases in teachers' positive and reductions in teachers' negative behavior relative to training as usual, in decreased peer negative behavior toward target children, and in decreased negative behavior of target children high on conduct problems. The impact of IY training on the behavior of target children was mediated by changes in peers' behavior with no direct effects of teacher behavior and differential effects for high and low conduct problem children. Teacher training focused on altering the whole classroom environment may be an effective strategy, even for children with significant conduct problems.     

A test of a method for quantifying amount, complexity, and arrangement of play resources in the preschool classroom

This study was a test of the feasibility of a method for quantifying the physical features of a high quality preschool setting. Play resources were selected and arranged for: (a) visibility and access, (b) variations in complexity level, and (c) availability of alternate selections for play choices. Independent analyses from two urban day care settings (N=60) provided concurrent replication of the test of the hypotheses. As predicted, significant increases in participation were recorded from baseline to experimental treatment, and concomitant decreases from treatment to post-treatment. Conflicts rarely occurred during baseline or treatment. However, the increase in conflicts during post-treatment was viewed as a significant effect of the cessation of treatment. Treatment condition did not affect the statistical prevalence of waiting and watching behaviors, but did appear to influence the functions served by these noninteractions. Implications of these results for application by early childhood personnel are offered.     

Loving and leaving: Sex differences in romantic attachments

We propose a two-part generalization about sex differences in entering into and giving up romantic attachments: (1) Men tend to fall in love more readily than women; (2) women tend to fall out of love more readily than men. Evidence in support of these generalizations is derived from a longitudinal study of 231 college student dating couples. The data suggest that women are more cautious than men about entering into romantic relationships, more likely to compare these relationships to alternatives, more likely to end a relationship that seems ill fated, and better able to cope with rejection. We consider several possible explanations of these sex differences from the standpoints of psychoanalytic theory, the social and economic context of mate selection, and the socialization of men and women in the management of their own emotions. To evaluate these (and any other) explanations, further research might profitably investigate whether and to what degree these sex differences are found in other segments of the population.This research was supported by National Science Foundation grant GS-27422 to Zick Rubin. The authors are grateful to Claire Engers, Sherry Ward, and Susan Willard for their contribution to this research and to Jessie Bernard, Nancy Chodorow, George W. Goethals, Paul Rosenblatt, Ann Swidler, and Shelley Taylor for their helpful comments.     

Love and violence: gender paradoxes in volatile attachments

This article presents a multidimensional, theoretical model for the understanding of relationships in which men are violent toward women. It argues that abusive relationships exemplify, in extremis, the stereotypical gender arrangements that structure intimacy between men and women generally. Moreover, it proposes that paradoxical gender injunctions create insoluble relationship dilemmas that can explode in violence. A multifaceted approach to treatment, which incorporates feminist and systemic ideas and techniques, is described.     

Conscientiousness in the classroom: a process explanation

Although the research literature has established that Conscientiousness predicts task performance across a variety of achievement contexts (e.g., ; ), comparatively less is known about the processes that underlie these relations. To the latter end, the current research examines effortful strategies and achievement goals as mediating factors that might explain why people with higher levels of Conscientiousness are predicted to reach higher levels of academic performance. In a longitudinal study, 347 college students completed measures of personality and achievement goals at the beginning of the class, followed by measures of effortful strategies multiple times throughout the semester. Results support the hypothesis that effortful strategies mediate the association between Conscientiousness and academic performance. Moreover, the statistical effects of Conscientiousness were generally independent of achievement goals, but a small portion of the effect was mediated through approach, not avoidance, achievement goals. These results highlight the importance of examining mediating processes between personality and outcomes, and in the case of Conscientiousness, our results suggest that effortful strategies might serve as a useful target for performance-enhancing interventions.     

Orthodoxy revisited: the postsecular classroom

As is the case with many new intellectual concepts, the definitional parameters of the term ‘postsecular’ are in flux and ultimately will shape its critical usefulness. This article represents an effort to participate in this discussion with a particular emphasis on the pedagogical importance of the tenets of religious orthodoxy when discussing spiritual matters in the university-level liberal arts classroom. The analysis is contextualized by reflection on the place of religion in the public sphere by various scholars, including Jürgen Habermas and Rowan Williams. This analysis establishes that the study of traditional religious positions in the university classroom can enrich the discourse of the liberal arts; however, neither proselytization nor an emotion-based spiritual paradigm bereft of intellectual rigor will serve these ends. I argue that the re-introduction of religion into analytical discourse in the humanities classroom will be successful if the discussion of religion is complemented by the recognition of the serious study of religious thought and scholarship. The argument is then developed through a pedagogical case study of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited that illustrates how the discussion of orthodox positions can enhance discussion of the novel in the postsecular classroom.     

Conserving time in the classroom: the clicker technique

Any technique that conserves classroom instructional time without sacrificing the amount learned is of great educational value. This research compared a laboratory analogue of the clicker technique to analogues of other classroom pedagogical methods that all involve repeated testing during teaching. The clicker analogue mimics the classroom practice of dropping material that is understood by the majority of the class, as revealed by testing with clicker questions, from further lecture. A fact learning and retrieval paradigm was used, in which college students learned facts about unfamiliar countries. Compressing instruction time based on group-level performance produced as much learning as no compression and as compression based on individual-level performance. Results suggest that the clicker technique is an efficient and cost-effective method of conserving instructional time without loss of amount learned.     

Ethics in the classroom

In this paper, we describe our recent approaches to introducing students in a beginning computer science class to the study of ethical issues related to computer science and technology. This consists of three components: lectures on ethics and technology, in-class discussion of ethical scenarios, and a reflective paper on a topic related to ethics or the impact of technology on society. We give both student reactions to these aspects, and instructor perspective on the difficulties and benefits in exposing students to these ideas.