Promote Skill Acquisition Research Articles

Teaching Chemical Technique. A Review of the Literature

The purpose of this study was to determine through a historical review of the literature some of the most effective ways to teach manipulative skills in chemistry. I reviewed chemical education journals, laboratory manuals, early American chemistry textbooks, analytical chemistry texts, and science education textbooks and journals that have to do with instructional methods of teaching laboratory technique in the chemistry laboratory from the mid-1800s to the present. Both anecdotal and research-based findings suggest that while it may be difficult to choose the best method to improve students' manipulative skills, it is clear that videos can be useful media to promote skill acquisition. Using videotapes, videodiscs, CD-ROMs, and the Internet can have several advantages, such as the ability to be edited, copied, and viewed multiple times. The review of the literature also strongly suggests that some sort of mental preparation combined with physical practice can beneficially affect students' laboratory sk...

Attention Limitation and Learning in Physiotherapy

This article aims to provide an introduction to theories of attention and discusses how knowledge of this branch of psychology may help physiotherapists achieve a better understanding of their own skill. Application of this knowledge to the field of respiratory care reveals that limitations in attentional capacity may interfere with clinicians' and students' ability to perform many tasks at once, leading to performance impairment: a phenomenon known as dual-task interference. Models of dual-task interference, automaticity and selective attention are reviewed to illustrate this and suggestions made to alleviate the effects of attentional limitations. In conclusion, it is hoped that knowledge of this area of study may lead to better teaching and learning strategies being developed for promoting skill acquisition in learners. This article aims to provide an introduction to theories of attention and discusses how knowledge of this branch of psychology may help physiotherapists achieve a better understanding of their own skill. Application of this knowledge to the field of respiratory care reveals that limitations in attentional capacity may interfere with clinicians' and students' ability to perform many tasks at once, leading to performance impairment: a phenomenon known as dual-task interference. Models of dual-task interference, automaticity and selective attention are reviewed to illustrate this and suggestions made to alleviate the effects of attentional limitations. In conclusion, it is hoped that knowledge of this area of study may lead to better teaching and learning strategies being developed for promoting skill acquisition in learners.

Twelve tips for conducting effective workshops.

Workshops are a common educational format for transmitting information and promoting skill acquisition. However, they frequently fall short of their teaching potential. Many workshops do not seem like workshops at all. Participants are often quiet, passive onlookers; the workshop coordinator gives a 'lecture' to the group; and questions and discussion are frequently absent. A workshop has been defined as:

Self-regulation treatment to reduce the aversiveness of cancer chemotherapy

In an A-B design, the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention for reducing chemotherapy-associated nausea and emesis in an 11-year-old cancer patient was evaluated. A highly structure, time-limited, self-regulation treatment was implemented that consisted of patient and parent instruction in self-hypnotic methods, cue-controlled relaxation, and guided imagery. Practice of the self-regulation methods at home and in vivo (clinic setting) in the absence of chemotherapy infusion were emphasized to promote skill acquisition and cross-setting generalisation. Dependent variables included sell-reported nausea intensity and parental report of duration of the patient's sleep and vomiting frequency. Data were obtained before, during, and following chemotherapy for baseline and self-regulation treatment phases across cycles of chemotherapy that occured over a 5-month period. During the intervention phase, a marked and clinically significant reduction in self-reported nausea and parent-observed vomiting were noted as well as a concurrent increase in sleep duration. The integrity of patient self-report and parental observations were supported by clinic staff anecdotal data. Treatment limitations and cost-effectiveness are discussed as well as the use of this intervention with adolescent patients.

Training parents to become better behavior managers. The need for a competency-based approach.

Seven parents, each with a clinic-referred noncompliant child, participated in a 6-week group training program designed to teach instruction-giving and time-out skills. A didactic training format (lectures and modeling) was employed in the first three weekly sessions. The final three sessions involved competency-based instruction, during which parents had to demonstrate skills to a criterion level in order to complete training. A multiple baseline design across targeted skill domains was used to examine whether didactic training (with and without supplemental competency-based instruction), resulted in skill proficiency. Skill acquisition was assessed through simulations with adult confederates and the index child prior to training, at the conclusion of the didactic component, and following competency-based instruction. Parents' reports of the child's compliance with parental requests at home, the child's overall adjustment, and the degree of parental satisfaction with each training component were also obtained. In addition, 6-and 12-week follow-up assessments were completed. Results showed that didactic training alone was insufficient to promote skill acquisition to mastery criterion in each case. Following competency-based instruction, however, six of the seven parents achieved 90% skill proficiency with both targeted procedures. Acquired skills were maintained above baseline levels at 6- and 12-week follow-ups. Skill acquisition was typically associated with positive changes in all self-report measures. Results suggest that a group parent training approach to skill acquisition should include a competency-based curriculum along with direct observation outcome measures of targeted parent behaviors.

Instructional Practices for Promoting Skill Acquisition and Generalization in Severely Learning Disabled Adolescents

Programming options for learning disabled (LD) adolescents have received increased attention over the past decade. In addition to curriculum-related issues, efforts must also be aimed at solving the basic question of how to instruct LD adolescents to ensure maximum skill acquisition and generalization. Results of research conducted with a wide range of LD adolescents have shown that severely learning disabled (SLD) students need very stringent and systematic instructional procedures in order to acquire and apply learning strategies. Using a learning strategies approach, this article outlines specific procedures designed to promote acquisition and generalization of learning strategies in LD adolescents. First students are taught a specific strategy in isolation before being asked to apply it to controlled materials, and later to transfer the strategy to regular-class content. Unless sound instructional practices are implemented, the performance of SLD students is adversely affected.

The Use of Modeling Tactics to Promote Academic Skill Development of Exceptional Learners

The instructional utility of employing modeling strategies to promote skill acquisition in the content areas of arithmetic, spelling, reading, expressive language and handwriting is presented vis-a-vis descriptions of several basic modeling strategies and teaching procedures in which models are integral components. Examples of instructional procedures wherein models have been used successfully as prompts and corrective feedback are given. It is argued that despite research evidence that modeling strategies are viable teaching tactics across categories of exceptionality and skill areas, systematic application of the use of models is not widely practiced.

Trainer Feedback: A Method for Teaching Interpersonal Skills

Feedback is an important teaching skill for counselor educators and supervisors teaching helping skills and for practitioners employing skill‐training programs as an intervention for clients with relationship problems. Trainer feedback reports observable behaviors, describes how the trainee's performance deviated from or matches mastery performance criteria, and provides suggestions for improved skill implementation. By using a systematic, organized feedback delivery, a trainer can have powerful impact in promoting skill acquisition by trainees. This article describes the elements of trainer feedback, offers guidelines for giving and receiving feedback, and responds to common issues concerning the use of feedback in skill training groups.