Ralph H. Ojemann

The Effect on Pupil Growth of an Increase in Teacher’S Understanding of Pupil Behavior

does not know that perhaps John is worrying about getting to his street corner on time to sell his papers, or that he does not take part in class discussions because of a feeling of inferiority, or that he is worried about his home, she is not likely to succeed in stimulat ing John to do his best. On the other hand knowing the childs attitude, conflicts, and purposes should make the teacher a better guide in planning an effective program of work for him.

The Effect of a Program of Guided Learning Experiences in Developing Probability Concepts at the Third Grade Level

IN THE development of a scientific-causal or iI entation by a child toward his environment both J physical and social the ability to think in proba bility terms plays a significant part. In any com plex phenomenon, such as an instance of human be havior, the factors which underlie and produce the behavior are manifold. Furthermore, information about these factors, as is the case with all empiri cal knowledge of the social and physical world, is characterized by greater or lesser unreliability and this characteristic has to be recognized when using knowledge to estimate the probable way in which the behavior developed or what its effects may be. When a child is confronted with an instance of be havior, such as when his teacher does something and he has to respond to it, a logical reaction would require him to think of some of the probable rea sons for the teachers action instead ofmaking a snap judgment about it. There is some evidence that childrens understanding and appreciation of the dynamics of behavior can be extended through a learning program in behavioral science and that such experiences help them in their daily interac tions (10, 12, 13). In developing an understanding of behavior, how ever, the concept of probability constitutes an im portant item. To increase the effectiveness of such programs, it appears helpful to investigate further how the ability to think in probability terms can be developed most effectively. The purpose of this study was to devise a program of guided experi ences for helping a child learn the elementary as pects of probability and to test the effectiveness of this program at the third-grade level. In recent years a number of investigators have been interested in probability concepts of children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19). Most of these have been concerned with the effects of extrin sic rewards on reactions at various input levels (2, 6, 8, 15, 16, 19). The investigation by Stevenson and Zigler (18) compared behavior of children com ing from two types of environments which differed in the degree of success the children had learned to expect. The present investigation differs from these in that it is interested in testing the effects of a con sciously planned sequence of guided experiences de rived from an analysis of the nature of the learning task and of the learners, as will be described later.

PIAGET AND THE ROLE OF GUIDED EXPERIENCES IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT.

Considerable confusion has appeared in the literature relative to the nature and significance of experience, as it pertains to such investigations as those of Piaget. A planned program for developing the concept of specific gravity was tested using experimental and control groups at the kindergarten and first grade levels. Stage of concept development was measured in individual interviews with the 39 Ss before and after administration of the learning program, which consisted of a 1-hr. period on each of three successive days. Results indicated that (a) planned learning programs can affect significantly the development of the concept of specific gravity at this age level and (b) the age levels for the development of the stages suggested by Piaget do not hold for a significant proportion of Ss when a planned learning program is applied.

EFFECTS OF GUIDED LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN DEVELOPING PROBABILITY CONCEPTS AT THE FIFTH GRADE LEVEL

A program of learning experiences designed to develop an understanding of selected probability concepts was administered to fifth grade Ss. An equated control group viewed two films which did not deal with probability concepts. Four post-tests were used. Results indicated significant differences in favor of the experimental Ss, including a test of “maximizing success” when prior knowledge as to input level was not available and no extraneous rewards were used.

The Relation between Ability in Scientific Thinking and Behavior in Situations Involving Choice

In studies of the individuals growth in logical or scientific thinking most of the em phasis has been placed on growth in ability and a number of tests of thinking ability have been devised. It is clear that ability in think ing is one important factor underlying the use of thinking when the adolescent is free to do as he wishes; the question for this in vestigation is, are there other factors that are also involved?

The Function of the Secondary School in an Integrated Plan for Education in Human Relations and Mental Health

Ralph H. Ojemann is associated with the Child Welfare Research Station at the State University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. This investigation was supported in part by Research Grant MH-301 from the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service. T HE title of this article raises two questions: What is meant by &dquo;an integrated plan&dquo; for education in mental health? And what is the place of the secondary school in such a plan? To develop an answer to these questions, let

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL JUDGMENTS -1

This paper begins with an analysis of factors involved in the study of moral judgments, including motivating forces, methods the individual uses for working them out, examining alternative methods as to consequences, and the role of a goal or purpose in life. A learning program based on this analysis was developed for the ele mentary school. Two investigations of the effects of the program are reported?one with fifth-grade subjects in a low socioeconomic area and one with sixth-grade Ss in a middle class suburb. Comparisons of results from experimental and control groups indicated that significant growth in the dimensions tested were made by both groups. The process of making moral judgments can be influenced by planned learning experiences.