Abstract
In most cases, success or failure in the classroom depends on how well academic competence can be used as a means to solve personal and social problems. So states Herbert Goldstein, co-author of a newly released monograph published by CEC. It is entitled Reasoning Ability of Mildly Retarded Learners and is included in the series, What Research and Experience Say to the Teacher of Exceptional Children.
Dr. Goldstein is Professor of Special Education in the Department of Educational Psychology at New York University. He began his career in special education as a teacher of educable mentally retarded children. He was a member of the Institute for Research on Exceptional Children at the University of Illinois. After chairing the Department of Special Education at Yeshiva University, he directed the curriculum Research and Development Center in Mental Retardation, which moved to New York University in 1977.
Dr. Goldstein contends that the differences in people's reasoning abilities are a matter of how efficiently they are able to process information. He proposes a problem solving approach for retarded learners which is systematic, predictable, and more nearly consistent with their abilities and experiences. He discusses this strategy for the classroom teacher, who has the greatest role in contributing to the success of handicapped learners as competent problem solvers.
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