Switching requirements in a Head Start classroom

Two experiments were conducted by the mothers of the children in a Head Start classroom. Both examined the effects of a switching task on the frequency with which children moved from one activity area of the classroom to another. The results indicated that the rate at which the children changed activities could be adjusted by varying the difficulty or magnitude of the switching task and that the task itself could be used to introduce academic subjects which would be poorly attended if initially presented in an activity area.     

Emphasis as a prompt for verbal imitation

Four- and five-yr-old disadvantaged children were read sentences composed of varying numbers of short phrases. The children were asked to repeat each sentence, but the accuracy of their imitations was not differentially reinforced. The teacher stressed (emphasized) certain words as she read each sentence. The proportion of words that were stressed was systematically varied. In general, the children imitated only parts of most sentences. Stress was effective in influencing which parts of a sentence the children would imitate, but only when relatively few words were stressed. Stressing a word increased the probability of a child's imitating that word (and, to a large extent, the entire phrase containing that word) as an inverse function of the proportion of the words that were stressed.     

A PRACTICAL STRATEGY FOR ONGOING REINFORCER ASSESSMENT

There is a need for practical methods of reinforcer assessment that systematically track ongoing changes in clients' preferences. In this study, the effects of a time-efficient reinforcer assessment package were evaluated in a multiple baseline across 3 preschoolers with autism, comparing individualized item selections by experienced teachers with children's presession preferences for items of various sensory qualities. Systematic assessment of children's reinforcers for correct responding virtually eliminated nontargeted maladaptive behaviors, as well as yielding expected improvements in accuracy. The powerful side-effects of potent reinforcers underline the importance of increased attention to reinforcer assessment in research and practice.     

The organization of day-care environments: required versus optional activities

Measures of group participation were used in an experimental analysis of the effects of two preschool activity schedules. Children's participation in preschool activities remained as high when children were allowed no options but were required to follow a schedule of activities in sequence, as when they were free to choose between several optional activities. However, this was only true: (1) when a child was not forced to wait until all other children had finished, but could start the next required activity individually as soon as he had finished the preceding one, and (2) when there was an abundance of materials in each required activity. When there were not adequate materials in each activity, children's participation was disrupted unless they were free to choose among several optional activities. Thus, in order to maintain high levels of participation in preschool play activities, it is not necessary to allow children to choose among several alternative activities. High participation may be more efficiently maintained by providing a supply of materials that is adequate to occupy all children in each of a sequence of required activities and staffing by at least two teachers, so that while one teacher is supervising children still finishing one activity another teacher can supervise children who are ready to start the next.     

DESIGN OF LIVING ENVIRONMENTS FOR NURSING-HOME RESIDENTS: INCREASING PARTICIPATION IN RECREATION ACTIVITIES1

Nursing-home residents have frequently been characterized as unoccupied and disengaged. At the outset of the present study, most residents were to be found in their own rooms, not exhibiting gross motor behavior or social interaction, and not participating in appropriate activities. To modify residents' levels of participation with the environment, a manipulative area was provided in the lounge. Participation in the lounge averaged 20% on days when the activity was not available, but increased to a mean of 74% on days when equipment and materials were given and residents were prompted to participate. When prompts were withdrawn and materials were available only by request, mean participation fell to 25%. The findings demonstrate that manipulative activities can support a high level of participation with the environment, if residents are prompted to use equipment and materials.     

Incidental teaching of language in the preschool

"Incidental teaching" denotes a process whereby language skills of labelling and describing are learned in naturally occurring adult-child interactions. In the present study, 15-min daily samples of the spontaneous speech of 11 children were recorded during free play over eight months of preschool. After incidental teaching of compound sentences, increases in unprompted use of compound sentences were seen for all the children, first directed to teachers, and then to children, in accordance with who attended to the children's requests for play materials. The incidental teaching procedure also stimulated spontaneous variety in speech, and appears to have general applicability to child learning settings.     

EXPERIMENTS IN A COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER: INCREASING CLIENT PAYMENTS FOR OUTPATIENT SERVICES

Although public health care systems often depend on revenue generated from client payment for services, inadequate agency fee payment systems continue to create substantial administrative problems. The first study examined the effects of implementing a system for producing and maintaining routine client fee payment. The second study was a replication of the first study. The Credit Criterion System was designed to: (a) allow clients to establish intra-agency credit by paying cash for each of the first three visits; and (b) pay for services monthly after credit was established. The system resulted in a baseline collection rate of 20%, compared with the Credit Criterion rate of 96.6%. The Credit Criterion System did not create additional administrative costs and it had no effect on attendance. Thus, the Credit Criterion System appears to be a reasonable set of procedures for allowing clients to meet their financial obligations to an agency.