Because of a consistently high failure rate of freshmen in a required introductory biology course, numerous strategies to improve the success rate of students without compromising academic standards were explored. The major underlying cause of lack of success was perceived to be the level of thinking skills possessed by the incoming freshman. The…

This review of selected study designs, the first volume of a two-volume resource, is intended to advise state administrative program leaders and others with program evaluation responsibilities of how to design studies of cooperative extension programs. Three kinds of information are presented in the volume's three parts. The first part introduces…

These abstracts of 42 studies of extension program results, which make up the second volume of a two-volume resource, are intended to advise state administrative program leaders and others with program evaluation responsibilities of how to design studies of cooperative extension programs. Designed to support volume I, which refers to these…

In a project led by Research for Better Schools (RBS), educators work with researchers to improve basic skills learning. Based on research findings relating the amount of time allocated for instruction and student achievement, one school made scheduling changes to reduce the time spent moving from one classroom to another. Other classroom…

This bulletin describes a first-grade "readiness program" developed at the Aumsville (Oregon) School District to help children who have been found to be at risk in a standard first-grade program. These students attend a readiness first grade designed to assist their development emotionally, socially, physically, and academically and only…

The format and mode of operation of a special commission appointed by the Maryland legislature to examine the teaching of values in elementary and secondary public schools are presented. The Commission surveyed and evaluated values education programs, interviewed educators, and held meetings with citizens throughout the state. Consensus was…

The development of the University of Rhode Island's International Engineering Program, particularly the German language instruction component, is described. A committee addressed four questions: (1) whether there is tangible evidence that it is desirable for technologists to learn a second language; (2) why engineers avoid foreign language study;…

The Management Computer Systems major at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, which is described in this report, is an integrated, intercollegiate undergraduate program designed to provide graduates with both general business skills and the technical computer skills required to bridge the technical-management gap widely reported in industry.…

Increasingly, educators are being challenged to find meaningful ways to meet the needs of nontraditional college students. A transdisciplinary model is useful in meeting these needs, in that it focuses on the individual and is characterized by a sharing of information and skills across traditional disciplinary boundaries. This model was conceived…

Presented in this program and proceedings are the following 27 papers describing a variety of educational uses of computers: "Learner Based Tools for Special Populations" (Barbara Allen); "Micros and Mainframes: Practical Administrative Applications at the Building Level" (Jeannine Bertrand and Eric Schiff); "Logo and Logowriter in the Curriculum"…

The Tennessee Technological University Rural Education Research and Service Consortium (RERSC) was founded in 1984 to facilitate research and service activities of the College of Education faculty in selected rural schools, provide assistance to faculty desiring to engage in such research/service, and launch a major research thrust consistent with…

A description is provided of Cuyahoga Community College's (CCC's) Jesse Owens Youth Development Program, a comprehensive year-round combination of courses, programs, and activities for inner city young people between the ages of 11 and 21. Following introductory comments on the program, the beginnings of CCC's youth development program are…

The Rural Library Training Project was undertaken to design and implement a basic training curriculum for the staff of rural libraries in Alberta, Canada. Phase One of the project, which began in December 1984, is described in the First Phase Report published in April 1985. This first interim report describes the Phase Two/Three activities from…

The University of Delaware's work with computer-based instruction since 1974 is summarized, with attention to the history and development of the Office of Computer-Based Instruction, university applications, outside user applications, and research and evaluation. PLATO was the system that met the university's criteria, which included: supporting…

An overview is provided of eight training sessions for teachers of pre-school children who are speakers of English as a second language (ESL). Developed by the Vancouver Preschool ESL Committee and a community college, the course had the following goals: (1) to explore teachers' cultural assumptions and understand how they affect relationships…