Individual contracts between the student and instructor are used as a means of modifying behavior in reading and study situations. Desirable behavior is described, and suitable performances of such behavior are outlined. Adult students agree to attempt to modify their behavior during a designated amount of time in order to meet their contracts.…

This document contains nine research abstracts and five progress reports of projects, complete and incomplete, initiated in 1967-1968 by the Michigan State University Head Start and Evaluation Center. The table of contents lists 14 projects under two subheadings (1) Research Abstracts, 1967-1968 Report, and (2) Progress Reports, 1967-1968 Research…

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a method for assessing change in communicative behavior--i.e., any observable behavior change manifested by students during a communicative situation in the classroom. Using a testing instrument specifically designed to measure these changes, 16 trained raters, four untrained raters, and six…

This research focuses on the effect of verbal behavior on the conditioning and extinction of an autonomic response, namely, the galvanic skin response (GSR). The major assumption is that the experimentor's verbal behavior produces verbal behavior internal to the subject, and this, in turn has a modifying effect on the conditioning phenomena. The…

A study concerned with the description of courses of action used by teachers successful in achieving classroom control is part of a larger effort to identify effective teacher behaviors which could be useful in training future teachers. The observation technique used followed a "rule-following" model (based on the Descriptive Psychology of P.G.…

The relationship of architecture to human behavior is a topic of increasing concern both to designers and behavioral scientists. To further evaluate the extent of the relationship a series of preliminary investigations has been undertaken. The primary means of measurement was informal conversations of dental students as related to the…

This ecological study is one part of a broad research effort to understand the backgrounds and characteristics of culturally disadvantaged children. The study attempted to provide empirical data which could be used to describe differences in home environments and behavior of three young children from deprived and non-deprived homes. Focus was on…

Interaction analysis, a system for observing and coding the verbal interchange between a teacher and his pupils, is used to study spontaneous teaching behavior and to help teachers modify their behavior. Trained observers classify teacher statements according to; a) acceptance of student feelings; b) use of praise and encouragement; c) acceptance…

This paper presents an inservice education model for the feedback of information concerning a teacher's spontaneous classroom behavior. A trained observer classifies the teacher's statements using a matrix of ten categories. From a tabulation of matrix entries it is possible to make inferences concerning the teacher's attitudes and behavior with…

This paper was presented at a symposium concerned with the results of research on teacher effectiveness and the procedures which might be used to review such research. The first part of the paper describes Rosenshine's research review procedure and analyzes the logic used to group research reports. Three possible standards which might be…

This paper contends that human organisms are not qualitatively different from infra-human ones. The same principles apply to the acquisition, maintenance and weakening of complex verbal skills as mathematics as to rats pressing bars or pigeons pecking windows. Two aspects of child research are assessment and training. Assessment involves…

This report presents the background of the development of a series of questionnaires and observation procedures designed to gather information on day care in Pennsylvania. The document discusses the procedures and evaluation strategy of the Pennsylvania Day Care Study Project. Two basic questionnaire forms were developed, each with one version for…

This study was designed to assess the impact of maternal role perception and expectations upon the use of early childhood care services. Additional information was sought about the effects of various demographic variables such as residence, use of child care services, marital status, family size, and levels of education, occupation and income on…

An exploratory study was made of changes in preschool children's perception of classmates as a result of a multicultural educational experience in a classroom integrated by social class and race. Twenty-four pre-kindergarten children were interviewed with the Photodoll Sociometric Instrument to gain information on their choice of playmates and…

This study analyzes the effects of one environmental property, illumination, as part of a general program to isolate differential effects of specific properties of the novel environment on attachment behaviors in infants and young children. Attachment is operationalized into two response classes: (1) proximity to the mother, and (2) contact with…