Edward L. Meyen

The Influence of the Teacher Expectancy Phenomenon on the Academic Performances of Educable Mentally Retarded Pupils in Special Classes

1 The financial help received from the University of lowa and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in support of this study is gratefully acknowledged. 2 Now an associate professor at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri. The teaching-learning process, as it occurs in the classroom setting of the public schools, has historically been the target of considerable research. For the most part, the emphasis has been on assessing the performance of the learner in meeting prescribed performance objectives. The independent variable in such research has typically been

A statewide approach to inservice training for teachers of the mentally retarded.

The SECDC inservice training program for teachers of the mentally retarded uses experienced special class teachers as inservice educators. These “consulting teachers” are trained to conduct monthly inservice sessions. Curriculum publications are prepared specifically for the field sessions by a staff at The University of Iowa, and an intermediate school district publishes the materials. Coordination is provided by the Iowa Department of Public Instruction. The purpose of the training program is to establish an ongoing inservice program which utilizes the teachership talents of teachers and which focuses on concerns relevant to their needs.

Teacher-Perceived Instructional Problems Indicators of Training Needs of Teachers of the Educable Mentally Retarded

1 Study conducted as part of Project No. 6-2883, funded by the U.S. Office of Education. The processes employed in the selection of in-service training topics for teachers of the mentally retarded vary among administrators. Some request suggested topics from the teachers themselves: many , unilaterally appraise the strengths and weaknesses of their programs and act accordingly; still others subordinate teacher needs and arrange in-service training sessions according to accessible resources. The need for systematic inservice training based on relevant subject matter becomes apparent when we consider the number of teachers employed with less than the desired amount of training, the number of new instructional materials appearing on the market, and the scarcity of consultative assistance available to special class teachers. In an attempt to cope with this problem on a statewide basis, the University of Iowa, in cooperation with the Iowa State Department of Public Instruction, established a Special Education Curriculum Development Center (Meyen, 1969).Through this facility, a statewide system of in-service training has been developed. Its objective is to improve the quality of instruction offered in special classes by systematically involving teachers in group interactions focusing on topics relevant to instructional problems encountered in their classrooms. The teacher leading the session discusses and demonstrates the particular materials developed by the SECDC staff for use at the session. Additional time is also allowed for free discussion on the part of the teachers in attendance. The groups average 25 in number. The sessions are held monthly and last about two hours. Although attendance is voluntary, approximately 90 percent of the special class