Francis E. Lentz

Learning To Learn Through Observation

Observational learning is theoretically conceptualized as a skill that can be developed along a learning hierarchy from acquisition and fluency to generalization of initiative behavior. This review characterizes these levels of observational learning and details differential teaching strategies that have been endeavored at each level. The hierarchy can assist the teacher in determining the status of a students observational learning skills, in recognizing essential instructional components in planning, and in organizing instruction to systematically enhance the students ability to acquire more complex observational skills.

The Promise of Meaningful Eligibility Determination Functional Intervention-Based Multifactored Preschool Evaluation

Despite considerable controversy, standardized norm-referenced assessment procedures are widely used to determine eligibility for special education services. Under Public Law 105-17, children ages 3 through 9 may receive special services under the broad category of child with a disability—rather than traditional diagnostic labels—based on a delay in one or more developmental domains. Due to the limitations of traditional ability and developmental norm-referenced measures, the determination of developmental delays may be highly error prone and unrelated to intervention decisions. As an alternative, we describe minimal requirements for functional intervention-based assessment and suggest strategies for using these methods to analyze developmental delays and make special service eligibility decisions for preschool children (intervention-based multifactored evaluation or IBMFE). The IBMFE model provides a basis for deriving logical, natural, and meaningful discrepancies in behavior or performance through the contextual analysis of child-related, environmental, and instructional variables.

Vocational-Technical Programs: Follow-up of Students with Learning Disabilities

Recent research has examined the role of vocational-technical training in facilitating the transition from school to work of adolescents with learning disabilities. The present study provided 6-, 12-, and. 24-month follow-up data on such students who had attended vocational-technical programs. Matched groups of students without disabilities from vocational-technical programs, as well as randomly selected students without disabilities front regular high schools, were also included for comparisons. Results of the study raised several questions about the value and purpose of vocational-technical training for adolescents with learning disabilities.

An Examination of Two Prompt Fading Procedures and Opportunities to Observe in Teaching Handicapped Preschoolers Self-Help Skills.

Utilizing four pairs of preschoolers with Downs Syndrome, the efficacy of two prompt fading procedures was compared during instruction of two self-help skills. In addition, the efficacy of observational learning was examined. Within a modified multiple baseline and multi-element design, one member of each pair received direct instruction on two skills. One skill was taught using a decreasing assistance prompting procedure, the other using a graduated guidance procedure. The other child was prompted to observe instruction, but not taught directly. Procedure and task were counter-balanced, the reliability of scoring and the social validity of outcomes were estimated, and the integrity of procedural implementation was examined. Results indicate that both procedures were effective in increasing the target behaviors. Surprisingly, children who only observed also acquired both tasks. Results generalized across assessors and were maintained across time. Implications for instructional planning for individuals who are mentally retarded are discussed.

Ecological Foundations of Early Intervention Planned Activities and Strategic Sampling

The purpose of this article was to present strategies for establishing meaningful and coherent goals for early intervention. First, from ecological theory, the natural and empirical bases of intervention design are reviewed, and the concept of fundamental units of analysis is explicatcd. Second, the idea of planned activities, which serve as natural units for intervention decisions, is presented. Third, aspects of sampling relevant for ecological interventions are discussed. Fourth, recommendations are made for using planned activities as a basis for sampling and intervention design. Being guided by planned activities may help resolve some controversial assessment questions and lead to stronger intervention plans, due to the emphasis on fundamental natural units of analysis.

Determining Extended School Year Eligibility: From Esoteric to Explicit Criteria

Litigation in the 1970s and early 1980s encouraged the provision of school services in excess of 180 days for certain students who demonstrated summer regression and poor recoupment. Criteria for these services have varied widely and have sometimes been difficult to surmise. The literature on extended school year is sparse, providing administrators with few empirical guidelines from which to develop policy on the eligibility and provision of such services. By contrast, the literature on maintenance provides useful strategies for extended school year assessment and planning. In this article we review existing extended school year literature, provide a case analysis, and make recommendations for developing explicit criteria for eligibility.