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.     

A MODIFIED INCIDENTAL-TEACHING PROCEDURE FOR AUTISTIC YOUTH: ACQUISITION AND GENERALIZATION OF RECEPTIVE OBJECT LABELS

A modified incidental-teaching procedure was used to increase the receptive language skills of autistic youth who had previously experienced lengthy institutionalization. At the time of the study, the two severely language-delayed children had recently been transitioned to a community-based group home. Receptive-labeling skills were taught for four sets of objects typically used in school lunch preparation. The percentage of correct, unprompted object identifications displayed by Youth 1 increased when the incidental-teaching package (gestural prompts, behavior-specific praise, and contingent access to lunch-making supplies) was sequentially introduced in a multiple-baseline design across sets of objects. These results were replicated with Youth 2. The youths' newly acquired language skills also generalized to a different setting (the dining room of the group home) and to a different activity occurring later in the day (a traditional sit-down, discrete-trial session). This research indicates that the linguistic skills of severely developmentally delayed autistic children can be accelerated by incidental instruction that is provided in the course of shaping other home-living skills.     

INCREASING COMMUNICATIVE INTERACTIONS OF YOUNG CHILDREN WITH AUTISM USING A VOICE OUTPUT COMMUNICATION AID AND NATURALISTIC TEACHING

We evaluated the effects of a voice output communication aid (VOCA) and naturalistic teaching procedures on the communicative interactions of young children with autism. A teacher and three assistants were taught to use naturalistic teaching strategies to provide opportunities for VOCA use in the context of regularly occurring classroom routines. Naturalistic teaching procedures and VOCA use were introduced in multiple probe fashion across 4 children and two classroom routines (snack and play). As the procedures were implemented, all children showed increases in communicative interactions using VOCAs. Also, there was no apparent reductive effect of VOCA use within the naturalistic teaching paradigm on other communicative behaviors. Teachers' ratings of children's VOCA communication, as well as ratings of a person unfamiliar with the children, supported the contextual appropriateness of the VOCA. Probes likewise indicated that the children used the VOCAs for a variety of different messages including requests, yes and no responses, statements, and social comments. Results are discussed in regard to the potential benefits of a VOCA when combined with naturalistic teaching procedures. Future research needs are also discussed, focusing on more precise identification of the attributes of VOCA use for children with autism, as well as for their support personnel.     

学生的认知风格与教师的教学策略之间关系的研究

本研究对２５５名初二学生认知风格测验与教师教学策略调查结果表明,初中学生存在着认知风格差异,属场依存性学生多于场独立性学生,认知风格与性别差异之间并不存在显著差异,表明初中学生在认知风格方面是总体上的平衡性与发展上的不平衡性的统一,教师的教学策略与教学方法对学生信知风梧的形成和发展具有一定的影响教学上应采取与初中学生认知风各相适应的教学方式,以促进学习能力的提高。     

教学心理学情感维度上的一种教材处理策略——心理匹配

在教学心理学领域中,人们往往习惯于从认知维度探索教材的优化处理策略,缺乏情感维度上的相应研究。奥苏贝尔虽提出意义学习的两个内在先决条件：一是学习者有同化新材料的认知结构;二是学习者有意义学习的心向．但他本人也仅从影响学生认知结构的角度,提出教材的认知处理策略──先行组织者策略．而未从影响学生心向的角度．提出教材的情感处理策略。鉴此,本文从情感维度上提出教材处理的心理匹配策略．以冀与认知策略一起共同优化处理教材、呈现教学内容环节,并阐明心理匹配策略的内涵、机制、作用和种类。     

Teaching Respect in the Classroom: An Instructional Approach

Teachers frequently are asked to address misbehavior in the classroom. To minimize the negative effects of reactive, punishment-based classroom management strategies, proactive instructional approaches are recommended. The Cool Tool is a social skills strategy designed to teach and encourage prosocial behaviors in the classroom and larger school environment. This case study utilized the Cool Tool with 26 middle school students across two classroom settings to teach Respect to Adults and Respect to Peers. A decrease in inappropriate behaviors was observed across both settings when the Cool Tool was initiated. Decreased rates of inappropriate behavior maintained for two months. Implications, limitations, and recommendations are discussed.     

配对词组的难度对策略使用效果的影响

探讨人工合成配对词组的难度对精加工策略使用效果的影响。材料为２６对根据其联想程度高低分为两组的配对名词组。各分为４组的一、三、五年级学生采用不同策略学习上述材料。研究结果表明：策略确实提高了被试的总体学习成绩;被试学习难度低的材料与难度高的材料相比,策略的促进效果更明显。该结果说明,材料难度极大地影响对策略的使用效果。     

EFFECTS OF RESPONSE CARDS DURING LESSON CLOSURE ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY STUDENTS IN AN EARTH SCIENCE COURSE

This study evaluated the effects of two review techniques on secondary students' recall of science lesson content: (a) an active review condition in which students used response cards to answer questions, and (b) a passive review condition in which students looked and listened while the teacher projected and read key lesson points. Scores on next-day and weekly tests were higher on lesson content reviewed with response cards.     

An ecological assessment of community-based interventions for prevention and health promotion: Approaches to measuring community coalitions

Presented an ecological assessment of a community coalition to prevent alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse, and related risks. Ecological assessment is defined as occurring at multiple social levels and along a continuum of stages of coalition readiness. The assessment is aided by the triangulation, or combining of assessment methods and strategies. Measures used to assess the coalition's formation, implementation of community initiatives, and production of community impacts are described, along with the triangulation strategies used to enhance the assessment findings. We thank our evaluation team members including Erica Adams, Simon Choi, Cindy Crusto, Katie Davino, David delaCruz, Pamela Goodman, Maury Nation, and Diana Seybolt. We also thank the members of the community coalitions for substance abuse prevention and especially the project directors: James Bown, Dian Crain, Johneta Davis, Kelli Kenninson, Paul Pittman, Greg Sparkman, Sheryl Taylor, and Kenneth Wright.     

A PROGRAM FOR INCREASING MANUAL SIGNING BY AUTISTIC AND PROFOUNDLY RETARDED YOUTH WITHIN THE DAILY ENVIRONMENT

A program was implemented to increase the manual signing of five profoundly retarded and four autistic youth within their daily environment. Each participant was nonvocal or minimally vocal. The program was based on modified incidental teaching strategies and was implemented by direct care personnel under supervision in an institutional setting. Specific components included rearranging the physical environment to prompt signing, altering routine staff-resident interactions to prompt, manually guide and/or reinforce signing; and conducting mini-training sessions. Additionally, staff modeled signs intermittently throughout the day. The program was sequentially implemented during two staff work shifts on each of two resident living modules. Observations conducted at four separate time periods during the day indicated that significant increases in signing occurred for all participating youth and that the increases generally maintained during follow-up checks at 5 and 17 weeks. Differential effects of the increased signing on frequency of vocalizations were noted across residents. A staff acceptability survey indicated favorable staff reports on the usefulness of signing to communicate with the youth. Results are discussed regarding the significance of manual signing for seriously developmentally disabled persons and the importance of ensuring that signing skills are used in the daily environment and not exclusively in formal training sessions. Also, areas for continued research are noted in terms of more refined analyses of client skills and subsequent progress in manual communication programs.