Computer-programmed instruction: The relation of required interaction to practical application

Computers were used to evaluate the effects of supplying answers to programmed instruction frames. A group experimental design compared passive reading, covert responding to frame blanks, and actively typing answers to blanks with and without immediate confirmation of correctness. Effects of a 315-frame program, teaching elements of programmed instruction design, were evaluated by analyzing answers to posttest generalization questions and an application test. Results strongly supported the effectiveness of requiring the student to supply fragments of a terminal repertoire while working through a program. Students who could either covertly respond to frame blanks or who were required to type frame answers performed significantly better on the frame generalization posttest and, more importantly, carefully followed program rules when preparing elements of a new instructional program.     

TEACHING MEMORIZED SPELLING WITH A MICROCOMPUTER: TIME DELAY AND COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION

A computer-assisted instruction program was evaluated that used a constant time-delay procedure to teach 5 students 18 spelling words. In addition to delivering the instructional procedure, the program managed the presentation of training content based on individual student responding and collected instructional data on individual student performance. The procedure was effective at teaching 4 of the 5 students the words, and generalization occurred from the computer-delivered keyboard response format to a teacher-delivered hand-written response format. Maintenance data varied among the students. The study demonstrated the feasibility of using microcomputers to deliver time-delay instruction in special education classrooms and suggested several research questions related to specific features of microcomputer-delivered time-delay instruction.     

Programmed instruction: What it is and how to do it

Five behaviorological features of programmed instruction are outlined: behavioral objectives, reinforcement, activity rate: high and relevant, successive approximation, and mastery progression. Each of these topics is explained, and examples are given to illustrate the differences between programmed instruction and the more common transmission model of teaching. A final section provides suggestions on specific techniques of successive approximation.     

Is the three-term contingency trial a predictor of effective instruction?

Two experiments are reported which test the effect of increased three-term contingency trials on students' correct and incorrect math responses. Experiment 1 included two junior high school students in need of special instruction in mathematics while in Experiment 2 two other students with similar instructional needs from the same classroom were studied. In the first experiment the increased rate of presentation (3 times the baseline rate) was done without regard to whether the antecedent teacher presentations to the student were presented vocally or in written form; in the second experiment, the rates of presentation were systematically rotated across written and vocal presentations. The dependent variables were rate per minute of correct and incorrect responses of students (vocal or written). The experiments used designs incorporating features of the multiple baseline (Students A and B) and reversal (Students B, C, and D). The data showed that increasing the number of three-term trials increased correct rates while incorrect rates remained relatively low. The second experiment replicated these findings with two other students and found that the treatment effect occurred independently with vocal and written antecedents when each was isolated. The results warrant further research to test whether or not rates of presentation of three-term contingency trials are predictors of effective instruction.     

The behavior analyst consulting model: Identifying and validating naturally effective instructional models

Increasingly, behavior analysts are attempting to develop interventions based on precision assessments of the situational factors surrounding a behavior of interest, those requiring reduction (as in functional analysis) or those requiring acceleration (as in ecobehavioral analysis). Using ecobehavioral assessments of naturalistic classroom instruction, we sought to identify a set of potentially effective procedures and to test their function. Using as selection criteria students' gains in academic achievement, and their observed academic behavior, we identified potentially effective versus ineffective instructional procedures used to teach language arts skills to students with learning disabilities (Study I). Subsequently, we sought to test and replicate the functionality of the identified procedures within a series of single-subject experiments. Results from a resource room application (Study II) indicated that the targeted effective procedure surpassed the targeted ineffective procedure in terms of both content mastery and the quality of students' written language samples. Results from a regular classroom application (Study III) indicated that the targeted effective procedure was also more effective than the conventional instructional procedure employed naturally by the regular education teacher. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

An evaluation of Headsprout early reading as an online parent-mediated intervention for primary school children

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and lengthy absences from the classroom, there is a need for large-scale remedial programs to support young children to “catch-up” on literacy and numeracy skills. A stratified randomized controlled trial was used to evaluate the Headsprout Early Reading (HER) program as a parent-mediated digital literacy intervention. A between-groups design compared differences in reading-dependent outcome measures for 36 children assigned to one of three intervention groups: with support, without support, and waitlist-control. Children completed significantly more episodes when parents received implementation support from the researcher compared to the without support group. Children receiving Headsprout instructions demonstrated marginally greater gains than the waitlist-control group in posttest outcome measures; however, differences in reading outcomes were not significant between groups at posttesting. The current research provides tentative support for HER and importantly, highlights the importance of providing support for parents implementing interventions at home.     

对情感教学心理研究的思考与探索

本文梳理了作者及其团队近30年来在情感教学心理学领域的开拓和发展中的一些思考和探索概况,主要涉及四方面的内容:一是结合研究者自己的教学经历和教学领域中对情感的忽视以及心理领域中对情感研究的薄弱之现状,谈对情感教学心理学研究的起因;二是探索情感的分类、功能和发生机制,为情感教学心理研究打下必要的基础;三是从基础性和应用性两个方面,推进情感教学心理的一系列研究;四是从社会-心理的宏观层面和生理-心理的微观层面,拓展情感教学心理研究。     

A COMPARISON OF FOUR STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING A SMALL FOREIGN‐LANGUAGE VOCABULARY

We compared the effects of tact training, listener training, and two types of intraverbal training on 2 children's acquisition of foreign‐language tact, listener, and intraverbal relations. The children received all four types of training simultaneously with different stimulus sets. Native‐foreign intraverbal training presented the greatest difficulty with acquisition for both children. All types of training generated increases in correct responding on tests for emergent relations, and some emerged to criterion. However, no type of training resulted in criterion‐level performance on all relations.     

Implementation of the Sound Partners Reading Program

Eleven first grade and 10 second grade students, all with reading and behavioral difficulties, received one-on-one tutoring using the Sound Partners reading program (Vadasy & Pool, l997). Students received 30 min of tutoring each day for 5 months. Students were assessed on Letter-Word Identification, Passage Comprehension, and Word Attack subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson-Revised (WJ-R): Tests of Achievement. An informal measure (rapid letter naming) was also used. Results indicated that gains of approximately 1 standard deviation (or greater) were noted for subtests of the WJ-R for first-grade students; second graders showed relatively stable performance from pre- to posttest assessments. Similar performance was noted on the informal measure across grades. Program satisfaction data showed that overall the tutors, teachers, and students were pleased with the program. Discussion focuses on the implications for future investigations.     

The effects of tact and listener training on the emergence of bidirectional intra verbal relations

We evaluated the effects of 2 types of training on the emergence of bidirectional intraverbal relations with 4 typically developing children. Tact training involved reinforcing foreign-language vocalizations in the presence of visual stimuli, and listener training involved reinforcing selections of visual stimuli following vocal presentations of foreign-language words. Intraverbal relations were tested by instructing participants to vocalize native-language equivalents of foreign-language words or vice versa. Both types of training produced increases in intraverbal responding, but the emergent relations were not always bidirectional.