Short-Term Memory: Curricular Implications for the Mentally Retarded
JAMES F. WINSCHEL, Ed.D. Syracuse University ELIZABETH A. LAWRENCE, Ph.D. Western Michigan University It has often been contended that programs for the mentally retarded are neither different nor distinctive. While it is true that the development of intelligence has been a sometimes unique objective of such programs, in practice instruction has variously emphasized academic, vocational, and social content drawn largely from the regular school curricula. In commenting on the development of educational programs for the retarded, Simches and Bohn (1963) stated, &dquo;the most important goal-more adequate intellectual functioning-was almost ignored&dquo; (p. 1 16). Recently Kelly (1971) went so far as to suggest that intelligence is but a minimal goal in the education of the retarded. It is as if, having failed to pursue the goal, we should now abandon it completely. By