Systems concepts from general systems theory and family therapy literature are presented as analytical tools to help professionals understand and change interactions with their clients having communication disorders. Two case examples that illustrate relationship problems are presented, and approaches taken to their resolution are described.…

Analysis of videotapes of training procedures with 12 developmentally disabled adults in a horticultural day work program found an overall staff emphasis on selectively attending to workers' successful behavior with evidence of both efficiency and effectiveness of this approach. (Author/DB)

This observational study of three preschool children with profound disabilities in an integrated setting revealed frequent opportunities for peer social interactions and indicated that subjects engage in interactions of comparable length to those of nondisabled peers. The importance of helping young nondisabled children understand and respond to…

This study examined the effect of various intervention contexts on the ability of young children (ages 3 and 4 years) with language impairments to effectively direct communications to a partner and to vary communicative intentions. The six children in the study were either nonverbal or in the early stages of developing verbal communication and all…

This study investigated verbal play, including teasing and self-mocking in a naturally occurring conversation, among four Chinese female friends. The study illustrates how these speakers engage in teasing activities and then discusses the implications and significance of verbal play. Examples are taken from a casual, playful conversation…

The paper describes an observation instrument originally developed as a research tool to assess both the special setting and the regular classroom. The instrument can also be used in determining appropriate placement for students with learning disabilities and for programming the transfer of skills learned in the special setting to the regular…

This book focuses on questioning techniques and strategies teachers may employ to make the difference between active and passive learning in the classroom. There are nine chapters: (1) Why Questions? (Ambrose A. Clegg, Jr.); (2) Review of Research on Questioning Techniques (Meredith D. Gall and Tom Rhody); (3) The Multidisciplinary World of…

Practical applications of educational theory on peer groups to classroom management are discussed. (MJB)

Defines "creative rehersal" as a semi-structured playing of a narrative thread in a spontaneous manner by a child or group of children and an adult in order to practive problem solving abilities and describes the interaction of a child and an adult in such a situation. (MH)

Reports a study of kindergarten children's strategies for acquiring and protecting status in interactions with peers. Focusing on children's negotiations of relative social standing in face-to-face interactions, discusses strategies children used to improve and defend their relative positions in the social structure of their peer group. (NH)

The effects of the Program for Academic Survival Skills (PASS), a group behavior management program, on behavioral observation data and standardized achievement test measures were investigated. Results indicated PASS produced significant gains in survival skills during operation and one week following termination in reading and mathematics periods…

Provides an overview of the literature on teacher effectiveness and lists characteristics defined by such research. Examines the extent to which music education researchers have used the process-product paradigm and identifies the implications of this paradigm for professionals. Summarizes the findings of the results obtained from this research.…

This model has derived a particular set of competencies by selecting the best features of the disciplinarian, behavioristic, and therapeutic approaches to classroom management; each approach contains an outstanding feature that contributes significantly to the eclectic model. (JD)

Discusses methods by which teachers can understand student perceptions and attitudes. Investigates personal academic achievements, relationship of the students to the teachers, and interaction norms of the students with each other. (Author/DB)

Suggests, based on observations of children in a nursery school drawing activity, that what children understand about drawing is intimately tied to what they know of drawing activities undertaken in a particular social context. (FL)