Today, the nation is facing an unprecedented teacher shortage, which will undoubtedly result in increased attention to alternative certification programs as a possible means of addressing the schoolstaffing crisis. For the past decade, much has centered on the tensions between school, college, and department of education (SCDE) programs and alternative programs, and the relative merits and drawbacks of two delivery systems-one in which candidates complete initial certification prior to employment and one that provides training to candidates while they are employed as full-time teachers. The authors advocate a third alternative for midcareer teacher candidates, one that encompasses the strengths and minimizes the weaknesses of the two predominant delivery systems currently available. This alternative is the comprehensive, accelerated, customer-oriented teacher preparation program, coupled with an intensive induction support system. The authors describe one such program and discuss the compelling reasons for SCDEs nationwide to consider moving in this direction.
Four pigeons were tested under 30-, 100-, 600-, and l,OOO-sec values of the fixed-interval schedule of food presentation using both the treadle-press and the keypeck operants. Response rate was higher for the keypeck response at all schedule values, but the response pattern was similar for both operants. Quantitative measures of response rate and curvature showed considerable variability, with indication of a differential change in quarter-life as a function of schedule value, with the function being steeper for the treadle response than for the key response. Overall, responding on the key and treadle showed more similarities than differences.The activities of psychologists have, in recent years, been increasingly influenced by questions concerning the generality of behavioral laws constructed from data obtained using traditional experimental situations. Concurrently, the response system being studied and interactions between the response system and stimuli in the test environment came to be considered important independent variables that partially controlled behavior. Seligman (1970) proposed that evolutionary processes have resulted in species differences in speed of acquisition of different responses and in the formation of associations between stimuli or between responses and stimuli. Data supporting this type of analysis include Bolles ' (1970) observation that the single most effective variable in avoidance conditioning may be the response chosen for study . Also, the learned taste aversion literature shows that, with the appropriate combination of species, task, and stimuli , associations can be formed with very long delays between occurrences of the associated elements (Revusky & Garcia, 1970) . Such considerations indicate that the assumption that the study of a few response systems could allow discovery of general laws of behavior (Skinner, 1969, p. lO8) must now be examined and clarified.One procedure for the study of different response systems has involved comparison of keypecking and treadle pressing in the pigeon. These two responses of the pigeon seem quite different in terms of biological importance and selectivity in development from an evolutionary perspective. The highly visible Portions of these data were presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Hollywood Beach, 1977. We wish to thank S. Ward for assistance in data collection and the Computer Center of Georgia State University for providing the computer time and programs necessary to obtain and analyze the data . Reprints may be obtained from W. Kirk Richardson, Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303 . peck is frequently emitted by the pigeon, as it is involved in feeding, fighting, and other behaviors. Treadle responses, in comparison , seem not to have been left with any special characteristics by evolutionary processes. Several reports have shown that pigeons rapidly learn when treadle pressing is the avoidance response, while avoidance learning is slow or does...
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