We report an experiment examining the academic performance of undergraduate students in two special education college courses. The experimenter/professor taught both courses in which he presented curriculum material via written learn units (LUs) (Greer & Hogin, 1999) or in a lecture format across randomly selected weeks in a 12-week semester. There were a total of 20 students (11 in the Emotional Disturbance course, 9 in the ABA course) primarily juniors and seniors majoring in special education ranging in age from 20 to 48. The independent variable consisted of a series of written LUs presented to students in the form of guided notes that were scripted in logical sequence (based upon textbook material). LUs were defined as a series of meshed or interlocking 3-term contingencies 1 for the student and at least 2 for the professor arranged through scripted curricula. During the LU condition, the professor (1) read a phrase or question from the guided notes (with blank lines) that were distributed to students, (2) discussed the phrase or question, (3) exposed the phrase/question and its corresponding answer on the overhead, (4) provided an opportunity for all students to respond by writing/copying the answer, and (5) then immediately consequated their answers by checking their accurate completion of the blank line. During the lecture condition, the professor lectured (from the material obtained from the textbook chapter) without providing any written LUs. The dependent variable was student grade achievement on weekly short answer essay exams.
Despite the large number of minority students in special education in the public schools, there is a critical shortage of minority faculty in special education teacher training and research. This shortage exists, in part, because many minority students do not perceive themselves as potential college professors, nor do they have a clear concept of the culture of academe or the requirements for acquiring a faculty position and attaining tenure and promotion. Equally important, minority students express a need for mentoring and financial support to enable them to pursue doctorates in special education. We describe a research-based apprenticeship model to prepare minority students to enter doctoral programs with the goal of becoming faculty members in institutions of higher education. Specific recommendations and rationale are presented for recruitment and training.
Classroom characteristics such as instructional orientation and composition of work groups and instructional procedures such as teachers' use of contingent praise and systematic correction are major contributors to academic success. An important factor that has not received a great deal of attention is instructional pacing. Instructional pacing is characterized by the manipulation of two distinct time periods within an instructional sequence: the within-trial interval and the intertrial interval. This paper discusses research that has examined the components of the within-trial interval and intertrial interval. In addition, a research strategy is suggested to examine the components of instructional pacing. Such research would provide teacher training programs with an empirically valid teaching competency in instructional pacing, and would provide teachers with a powerful teaching tool.
To ascertain possible reasons why few minority students apply for admission to doctoral programs in special education, and to determine the extent of their knowledge of higher education, a questionnaire was given to minority students in a master's degree special education program at an urban university. Finances, family responsibilities, intellectual challenge, and self-confidence are among the variables that affect the pursuit of doctoral study for many minority students. Nevertheless, many minority students set their career goals no higher than the master's degree level. They do not understand the culture and mores of academe or the requirements for tenure and promotion, and do not perceive themselves as potential college professors. Based on the results of this study, strategies for recruiting minority students into doctoral programs and for their retention are recommended.
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