Effects of Discrimination Training and Self-Evaluative Feedback in a Minicourse for Teachers of Mentally Handicapped Children

Effects of Discrimination Training and Self‐Evaluative Feedback in a Minicourse for Teachers of Mentally Handicapped ChildrenAbstract

An analysis of the components of a self‐instructional microteaching course, for serving special education teachers, was carried out. Four hypotheses derived from literature on discrimination training and microteaching were tested. The results did not consistently support any of the hypotheses. Although participation in the course increased teachers’ use of targeted skills, no consistent evidence was found that training teachers to identify skills led to better acquisition of these skills or more accurate self‐evaluations; that changes from ‘teach’ to ‘reteach’ sessions were related to the outcome of self‐evaluations; or that teachers’ use of targeted skills increased from teach to reteach. The implications of these results for future course design are discussed.