The purpose of this study was to determine the value of business education at the secondary school level as perceived by three groups of people who have great impact on course offerings, student advisement, and teacher hiring decisions. Specifically, high school counselors, high school principals, and local board of education presidents in a…

A project was conducted in Texas to update office education curriculum based on previously developed workplace outcomes and integration of competencies identified by the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS). One course, Business Computer Applications I, was chosen as the model for the project. During the project, activities…

This instructor's manual is designed to familiarize vocational education teachers with the use of computer-managed instruction (CMI) in competency-based vocational education programs. Discussed in the introductory section of the manual are the basic functions of CMI, tips for getting started, daily recordkeeping procedures, weekly timecard…

This instructional manual contains 20 learning activity packets for use in a workshop on robotics. The lessons cover the following topics: safety considerations in robotics; introduction to technology-level and coordinate-systems categories; the teach pendant (a hand-held computer, usually attached to the robot controller, with which the operator…

This instructional manual contains 12 learning activity packets for use in a workshop in computer-aided design and drafting (CADD). The lessons cover the following topics: introduction to computer graphics and computer-aided design/drafting; coordinate systems; advance space graphics hardware configuration and basic features of the IBM PC…

The Instructional Support System for Occupational Education (ISSOE) Instructional Planning Project was intended to develop procedures for identifying successful instructional materials, suitable for teaching specific ISSOE competencies. A form was developed for use by teachers in reporting materials they were using in their classes with success.…

This instructor guide for a unit on operations in the PACE (Program for Acquiring Competence in Entrepreneurship) curriculum includes the full text of the student module and lesson plans, instructional suggestions, and other teacher resources. The competencies that are incorporated into this module are at Level 2 of learning--planning for a…

This instructor guide for a unit on recordkeeping in the PACE (Program for Acquiring Competence in Entrepreneurship) curriculum includes the full text of the student module and lesson plans, instructional suggestions, and other teacher resources. The competencies that are incorporated into this module are at Level 3 of learning--starting and…

Awareness of the need for more effective instruction for heterogeneous groups of students has resulted in the development of the "mastery learning" model through which students are provided with the additional time necessary to achieve mastery of the content to be learned. The mastery learning model does not, however, provide a…

This instructor guide for a unit on financial analysis in the PACE (Program for Acquiring Competence in Entrepreneurship) curriculum includes the full text of the student module and lesson plans, instructional suggestions, and other teacher resources. The competencies that are incorporated into this module are at Level 2 of learning--planning for…

Teacher and student editions of Civil Technology Applications are one in a series of competency-based instructional materials for drafting and civil technology programs. It includes the technical content and tasks necessary for a student to be employed as a drafter or civil technician in a civil engineering firm. Introductory pages in the teacher…

This instructional manual contains five learning activity packets for use in a workshop on computer numerical control for computer-aided manufacturing. The lessons cover the following topics: introduction to computer-aided manufacturing, understanding the lathe, using the computer, computer numerically controlled part programming, and executing a…

This computer-aided drafting (CAD) curriculum was developed to provide drafting instructors in Illinois with a useful guide for relating an important new technological advance to the vocational classroom. The competency-based learning activity guides are written to be used with any CAD system being used at the secondary and postsecondary levels.…

This notebook contains the following conference presentations: "Identifying and Validating Task Lists by Business and Industry for Test/Test Item Development" (Charles Losh); "Conducting a Task Analysis for Competency-Based Test Item Development" (Brenda Hattaway); "Writing and Reviewing Test Items: Multiple Choice,…

The Massachusetts Occupational Competence Access Project (OCAP) was designed to provide secondary school students with marketable skills and to increase their ability to make decisions about careers. The first year's efforts were primarily concerned with setting up the project and with inservice training for teachers, counselors, and…