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A traditional reading program and an individualized reading program were compared in terms of numbers of books read by pupils in a given period, the types of books selected by the pupils, and readability levels of books selected. It was hypothesized that individualized reading pupils would read more, and that pupils in the traditional reading program would read less fiction and would choose easier books. The subjects were 152 eighth grade students, 113 of whom were in the traditional reading program, and 39 of whom were in the individualized program. The findings indicated that the children in the individualized groups read an average of 6.3 books during the period studied. Subjects in the traditional reading program read an average of 4.1 books. Boys in the individualized reading group read the most, followed by girls in that group; girls in the traditional group ranked third, and boys in the traditional group read the least. A "t" test showed no significant differences in the means. The average readability level of books selected by both groups was sixth grade. It was concluded that individualized reading appears to motivate readers better than a traditional reading program. (Author/WR)

A project emphasizing prevention of potential learning problems through early identification and individual educational prescriptions is discussed. Children identified through a screening process will be placed in a modified primary class. They will receive a curriculum designed to develop skills required for successful participation in first grade. A continuum of placement will be available for children who have been identified through screening. An outgrowth of the project will be an outline of the areas to be included in the specially designed curriculum. (CK)

ESEA Title I projects related to school-community relations and unique staffing patterns, carried out in Philadelphia during 1971-1972, are evaluated in this volume. The six projects in this cluster are: School-Community Coordinator Services; New Staffing Patterns in Educational Improvement Program Schools; Kindergarten Aides and Supervisors; Out-of-School Sequenced Science Experiences for Paired Schools; Education in World Affairs; and Germantown Area Schools Project. The six projects have the following objectives: to inform community residents about the objectives, programs, curricula, and services of the school, and to increase their participation in projects relating the school and the community; and to inform school personnel about the composition, needs, and concerns of their school's community, and to increase their participation in projects relating the school and the community. This report contains a cluster overview, and digest reports of the projects within the cluster in the following format: identification and description of the project (rationale, objectives, operational characteristics, previous evaluations); current evaluation procedure (scope and design, instruments, subjects, analysis of data); results; and conclusions. (For related documents, see TM 003 230, 232-233.) (DB)

Described photographically and textually in the brochure are the educational, vocational, and social needs of deaf mentally retarded (DMR) children and adults. The DMR person is discussed in relation to the double handicap which precludes educational benefits from a traditional program, secondary problems such as visual handicaps, and incidence figures (such as 17% of children in schools for the deaf who are also retarded). The DMR are said to be found in locations such as public or private schools, vocational training programs, and sheltered workshops. It is maintained that although some DMR children are in special classes for the multiply handicapped in residential or day schools, the majority of DMR children are in institutions with no appropriate educational programs. Listed are the few states that offer vocational training programs, and cited is the need for trained personnel such as speech therapists, special teachers, and vocational counselors. Reviewed are needs such as comprehensive diagnostic and treatment centers, state cooperative systems, a wider variety of educational options, and parent education. Recent court decisions which assert the right of every individual to be educated are quoted to show that society has a legal, moral, and ethical responsibility to provide comprehensive services for the DMR person. Listed are sources of additional information. (MC)

Science requirements in home economics undergraduate programs and contributions of science courses to home economics classroom teaching were investigated. Following a review of related literature, college catalogs were surveyed to determine what proportion of American home economics departments required chemistry courses to obtain a bachelor's degree in home economics education. A questionnaire to determine: (1) course work required in the exact sciences, (2) classroom use made of background knowledge gained from the exact science area, and (3) recommendations for curriculum change was developed and administered to 356 graduates of Oregon State University and Texas Technological College where chemistry was not a requirement, and to all the home economics teachers in the state of Utah. Results were compiled into tables of percentages for comparison. Conclusions were: (1) Most colleges and universities required chemistry for home economics education teachers, (2) Chemistry was found useful but not directly applicable to classroom teaching, (3) More emphasis on behavioral sciences was desired by home economics education majors. A bibliography, and instruments used in the study are appended. (FP)

The purpose of this study was to gather information from graduates in elementary education of the past ten years and to evaluate statistically the significance of this information. The limited number of followup studies in the area were reviewed as a first step, after which a four-page questionnaire was sent to as many of the 699 graduates from the period 1959 to 1969 as could be found. In analyzing the data, chi square analyses were used to determine if there were significant differences among observed and expected frequencies in the graduates' evaluation of their courses; simple frequencies were used for the remainder of the data. The findings showed no significant differences among observed and expected frequencies between the specified year divisions in 13 of the 116 topics. Other indications were that there is a definite trend toward continuing education after graduating; that 68 percent of the respondents still live in Kentucky; and that 71 percent continue to teach. The author feels that it is significant that approximately 56 percent of those responding to the relevant question did not suggest any courses that should or could be eliminated from the program. An appendix contains the questionnaire and covering letter; followup postcard, and the code used in preparing punch cards. (MBM)

As a result of findings of a previous study, this study, which sought to program preschool subjects to wait one minute for reinforcement, used pause-building procedures before delay conditions were started. The children, 3- to 5-year-olds, were designated either Baseline (control) subjects (n=3) or Programmed (experimental) subjects (n=5). Though procedures varied in detail for each subject, the general plan followed was for the Baseline subjects to be put right into 60 second delay periods (after initial pause-building training) and for the Programmed subjects to receive a program of training steps in addition to the pause-building training before facing the 60 second delay of reinforcement. These training steps involved multiple schedules of continuous reinforcement and progressive differential reinforcement, discriminative stimuli that were gradually faded out, and increasing delay of reinforcement. The pause-building training, apparently a prerequisite for successful entry into the training program, was effective, and so was the programmed training for the experimental group, but only up to the point where discriminative stimuli for not responding were faded out. (MH)

Several 3- to 5-year-old children participated in this study designed to discover the necessary procedures to establish nonresponding in preschool children during delay of reinforcement. The children were divided into two groups: (1) the programed group (PG), to which a 60-second delay period was introduced gradually and (2) the baseline group (BG), to which the 60-second delay was introduced abruptly. They were told to push a button, which sometimes resulted in the child's receiving poker chips which could later be exchanged for a toy. During the test sessions the BG was reinforced on a variable interval (VI) schedule of two to nine seconds. The abrupt delay condition was introduced on the first response after a VI, and no reinforcement occurred for responses until 60 seconds had elapsed. The PG received the gradual 60-second delay condition, in which the duration of the delay was increased in 2-second incre ents. In both groups, supportive stimuli (a tone and a light) were used to indicate the delay period. Results of subject response data indicated that children of this age can learn the discrimination involved, but at least one PG subject did not learn it. The BG subjects did not appear to learn to discriminate between responding during the VI schedule and during the delay condition. (WD)

A multiple baseline design for modifying the gross motor coordination of a 31-month-old boy suspected of suffering from congenital brain damage was conducted at the University of Kansas Infant Study Laboratory. The primary purpose of the study was to establish, by experimental procedures, the desired, but absent, behavior of walking, getting up, and climbing stairs, at the expense of the existing behavior of scooting, pulling up with support, and not climbing stairs. It was hypothesized that, incidental to establishing the three desired behaviors, the behavior of standing without support would replace the subject's need to stand with support. The training sessions for each of he three desired behaviors were based on the gradual modification of undesirable into desirable behavior through selective reinforcement. The three desired behaviors were initially of zero incidence but were ultimately established as part of the child's response repertoire, although not to the complete displacement of the undesirable behaviors. (WD)

A 2-year, 8-month old boy with a language handicap was the subject of a 5-month training program which investigated the generalization of articulatory ability during and after a series of sessions aimed at correcting the boy's misarticulation of the letter "t." Before training began, three matters necessitated attention: (1) the establishment of instructional control, (2) the assessment of the boy's language behavior, and (3) the administration of a 26-word probe test. The training condition consisted of five phases interspersed with six probe tests. The training procedures were to correct the subject's misarticulation of the letter t. The probe tests were to measure the improvement and generalization of the subject's ability to articulate. Training phase five and probe tests five and six involved a change in procedure from auditory stimuli to visual stimuli. The results indicated that proper articulation of training and nontraining words ending in t increased, with some fluctuation, during the program and led to the conclusion that generalization of articulatory ability was demonstrated. (WD)

This document is the final report to the Institute of Educational Development for Head Start Research Evaluation activities at the University of Kansas for 1966-67. It contains 16 separate reports of studies completed or in the process of completion. The subject matter of the reports contains 15 distinct topics and warrants individual abstracts. The 15 abstract numbers and topics are as follows: PS 001 218 (reinforcement behavior of teachers); PS 001 219 (auditory discrimination); PS 001 220 (verbal imitation); PS 001 221 (language program); PS 001 222 (brie oral responses); PS 001 223 (peer group influence); PS 001 224 (reinforcement of intelligence); PS 001 225 (differentiated speech response); PS 001 226 (color labeling); PS 001 227 (errorless discrimination of delay of reinforcement); PS 001 228 (gross motor responses); PS 001 229 (physical development); PS 001 230 (matching abstractions); PS 001 231 (social reinforcement); and PS 001 232 (verbal recall). (WD)

A brief biography is presented of a noted author. (CK)

Presents the results of a Title I program serving severely deprived children who have been identified as having reading difficulties. (RB)