Twenty-seven studies pertaining to the use of selfmonitoring for behavior management purposes in special education classrooms were examined. The studies were described in detail questions regarding the reactivity of self-monitoring were posited, and implications for classroom instruction were delineated. It was found that self-monitoring can be successfully used with special education students of various ages in various settings to increase (a) attention to task, (b) positive classroom behaviors, and (c) some social skills. It can also be successfully used to decrease inappropriate classroom behavior. Self-monitoring apparently has the additional benefit of enhancing the likelihood that positive classroom behaviors will generalize to other settings. Self-monitoring techniques are easy to teach and have great promise as a behavior management strategy. However, new information regarding whether selfmonitoring is true self-management or self-regulation was not found in this review. It is recommended that further research be conducted to examine whether selfmonitoring works better than teacher-monitoring to control student behavior and to determine whether internal or external contingencies account for the reactivity effects.
Teachers work in a context that encourages them to differentiate high performing from low performing students, or rather easy-to-teach from hard and very hard-to-teach children. Once they understand children, teachers' professional judgments are the most reliable source of information about children's success or lack thereof in school. The intent of this study was to identify a screening instrument that would agree with teacher judgments in order to increase the relevance of educational programs for young children early in their educational experience. A group of children was observed and tested, and the results were compared to teacher judgments from kindergarten through third grade. Results were validated with a second group of kindergarten children. An instrument was identified that can be used by the teacher to gather behavior samples in a matter of minutes before s/he has had sufficient exposure to the child to make more informed decisions. Results were predictive of subsequent school performance in kindergarten through third grade.Educators of prekindergarten and kindergarten children find themselves in a dilemma when attempting to identify children who are at risk for learning difficulties. The screening of children entering kindergarten is mandated by state and federal laws (Public Law 99-457) in order to help find those who need further evaluation. The laws, however, do not provide guidelines for appropriate screening methods (Stavrou, Glassman, Kaiser, & McNeil, 1990). A primary consideration in choosing a screening instrument is the degree to which screening information relates to social and educational consequences for young children (Macmann,
Educators in the early school grades often find themselves in a dilemma when evaluating children's skills. Formal testing procedures are often inappropriate for young children and can wrongly identify them as deficient. The purpose of this study was to help teachers in making early decisions regarding individual children that would be accurate and helpful in designing educational programs. A screener was identified during the first year that discriminated between kindergarten children identified by their teachers as high-achieving or low-achieving. The results of a subsequent cross-validation yielded a relationship between the screener and the teachers' evaluations that was statistically significant.
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