Glenn Roswal

Effects of Collaborative Peer Tutoring on Urban Seventh Graders.

Abstract The effects of a collaborative peer tutor teaching program on the self-concept and school-based attitudes of seventh-grade students at a large urban junior high school were explored. Many of the students in the sample had been previously identified to be at risk by traditional school identification strategies. The study consisted of the 282 subjects enrolled in the seventh grade at F.C. Hammond Junior High School in Alexandria, Virginia. The Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale was used to measure self-concept in subjects. The Demos D (Dropout) Scale was used to measure student tendency to drop out of school. Data were collected at two points during the 16-week period (immediately before program onset and immediately after program completion. A post hoc analysis revealed that students in the collaborative peer tutor teaching program demonstrated significant improvement in dropout scores compared with students in both the traditional class using group learning activities and the traditional class using...

Magnitude and Reliability of Measurements of Muscle Strength across Trials for Individuals with Mental Retardation

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the magnitude and reliability of strength measures on the Nicholas Manual Muscle Tester for individuals with mental retardation. 17 subjects were given six trials with the dominant and nondominant flexor and extensor muscle groups. No significant differences were found between dominant and nondominant muscle groups by side or by muscle group. Interclass correlations ranged from .96 to .98 for six and three trials, respectively. It was concluded that the test was appropriate for reliably assessing strength in this population and that these individuals can achieve a sufficient magnitude on three trials for a reliable measure of strength.

Augmented Feedback for Enhanced Skill Acquisition in Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury

Coincident timing by individuals who exhibit traumatic brain injury was measured under conditions of no knowledge of results (no KR; n = 12), KR on every trial (n = 14), summary KR (n = 13), and average KR (n = 12). Following acquisition trials, groups performed immediate and longer retention trials without KR. Absolute constant error and variable error, analyzed in separate repeated-measures analyses of variance, indicated that during acquisition trials subjects receiving KR on every trial were the most accurate and the most consistent in their responses; however, subjects in groups receiving summary and average KR were the most accurate during immediate retention, with the group receiving summary KR being the most accurate during longer retention.

Coincident Timing by Nondisabled, Mentally Retarded, and Traumatic Brain-Injured Individuals under Varying Target-Exposure Conditions

Coincident timing by 15 nondisabled individuals, 15 mentally retarded and 15 traumatically brain injured was measured under varying target-exposure conditions. Absolute constant error, constant error, and variable error were analyzed in separate repeated-measures analyses of variance for early performance (first block of practice), late performance (last block of practice), and retention (last block of retention). Subjects with mental retardation displayed the least accurate and most variable coincident-timing responses. Nondisabled subjects were most influenced by target-exposure time; subjects with traumatic brain injury were most influenced by target-viewing distance; and subjects with mental retardation were most influenced by a combination of target velocity and target-viewing distance. Subjects with mental retardation displayed a too-early response bias, while nondisabled subjects tended to have a too-late response bias. Individuals with traumatic brain injury had a variable response bias.