GENERALIZATION OF STUDENT QUESTION ASKING FROM SPECIAL CLASS TO REGULAR CLASS SETTINGS

This study investigated the use of videotaped exemplars taken from a regular education mathematics class to teach generalization of question asking. Three mildly handicapped fourth-grade students who asked few questions in the regular education class served as subjects. Measures of the frequency of question asking and percentage of accuracy on assignments were obtained in the regular class. Treatment included showing the videotapes to the subjects, structuring opportunities for rehearsing question asking, and providing feedback. The results showed training procedures implemented in the learning resource room were effective in increasing the level of participants' question asking and in improving their scores on assignments in the regular mathematics class.     

OVERVIEW OF SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT

This article traces the emergence of supported employment as a result of philosophical changes in expectations for persons with disabilities, based on scientific developments that challenged traditional service-delivery models. Supported employment program characteristics also are reviewed, and the influence of applied behavior analysis is outlined. Finally, areas for future research in supported employment are discussed.     

TEACHING BETWEEN-CLASS generalization OF TOY PLAY BEHAVIOR TO HANDICAPPED CHILDREN

In this study, young children with severe and moderate handicaps were taught to generalize play responses. A multiple baseline across responses design, replicated with four children, was used to assessthe effects of generalization training within four sets of toys on generalization to untrained toys from four other sets. The responses taught were unique for each set of toys. Acrossthe four participants, training to generalize within-toy sets resulted in complete between-class generalization in 11 sets, partial generalization in 3 sets, and no generalization in 2 sets. No generalization occurred to another class of toys that differed fromthe previous sets in that they produced a reaction tothe play movement (e.g., pianos). Implications for conducting research using strategies based on class interrelationships in training contexts are discussed.     

On the multivariate asymptotic distribution of sequential Chi-square statistics

The multivariate asymptotic distribution of sequential Chi-square test statistics is investigated. It is shown that: (a) when sequential Chi-square statistics are calculated for nested models on the same data, the statistics have an asymptotic intercorrelation which may be expressed in closed form, and which is, in many cases, quite high; and (b) sequential Chi-squaredifference tests are asymptotically independent. Some Monte Carlo evidence on the applicability of the theory is provided.This research was carried out while the first author was Visiting Professor in the Department of Statistics in the University of South Africa, and was supported in part by a research grant (NSERC #67-4640) from the National Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada to the first author. The support of both of these organizations is acknowledged with gratitude.     

Testing equality of correlated proportions with incomplete data on both responses

Two test statistics are proposed for testing the equality of two correlated proportions when some observations are missing on both responses. The performance of these tests in terms of size and power is compared with other tests by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The proposed tests are easily computed and compare favorably with other tests.     

Saying and doing: A commentary on a contingency-space analysis

This article addresses the contingency-space analysis (Matthews, Shimoff, & Catania, 1987) of the verbal regulation of behavior. From an applied perspective, the conceptualization of the relationship between saying and doing Matthews et al. present may be more complex than is necessary. The central issue in correspondence investigations is a simple one: does correspondence between what people say and what they do occur? The focus of this paper is on the applied and clinical importance of the relationship between verbalizations and relevant behavior and the implications for future research.     

TEACHING SOCIAL/VOCATIONAL SKILLS TO RETARDED ADULTS WITH A MODIFIED TABLE GAME: AN ANALYSIS OF GENERALIZATION

In this study, a social skills training program for institutionalized mildly or moderately retarded adults was extended to include skills relevant to vocational settings. Target behaviors involving a verbal action or reaction within six skill areas were taught using a commercially available board game, Sorry, and a specially designed card deck. The training program featured response specific feedback, self-monitoring, individualized reinforcers, and individualized performance criterion levels. Using a multiple baseline across two groups (n = 3 per group), the game contingencies increased social/vocational skills in all targeted areas. Generalization was assessed in two settings: a simulated workshop in which pre and post measures were taken and in the institutional workshop where the residents worked. The posttraining simulated workshop results revealed that the residents' newly learned skills had generalized. However, repeated generalization measures of the residents' social interactions in the institutional workshop were equivocal as were measures of their productivity.     

ESTABLISHING GENERATIVE YES/NO RESPONSES IN DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED CHILDREN

We evaluated the effects of two procedures for teaching four developmentally disabled children to respond yes/no appropriately. During baseline, tutoring was conducted in which five known items were individually presented with the question, “Is this a_____?”, followed either by access to requested items or by remedial prompting contingent on responding. When tutoring did not improve performance, instruction was embedded in the regular classroom activities. In this condition, items requested by students were either presented or withheld on the basis of their response to the question, “Do you want ______?”. Increases in correa responding were confirmed by a multiple-baseline design across all four students and were maintained with the introduction of new items. However, generalization to “Is this a_____?” questions did not occur in the tutoring setting until specifically programmed. Subsequently, students also demonstrated appropriate yes/no responding to questions involving actions, possession, and spatial relations.     

Loglinear Rasch model tests

Existing statistical tests for the fit of the Rasch model have been criticized, because they are only sensitive to specific violations of its assumptions. Contingency table methods using loglinear models have been used to test various psychometric models. In this paper, the assumptions of the Rasch model are discussed and the Rasch model is reformulated as a quasi-independence model. The model is a quasi-loglinear model for the incomplete subgroup × score × item 1 × item 2 × ... × itemk contingency table. Using ordinary contingency table methods the Rasch model can be tested generally or against less restrictive quasi-loglinear models to investigate specific violations of its assumptions.