A project developed an operational definition of and designed a conceptual framework for evaluating two-year postsecondary educational customized training programs. The definition specifies that customized training requires the following: (1) contracts; (2) payments; (3) relationships to economic development strategies; (4) the delivery of…

This training manual, the first volume in a four-volume series of curriculum guides for use in training Peace Corps agricultural development workers, is an orientation for trainers. The first chapter covers the philosophy and approach of the agricultural development training series as well as preparation for training and staff development.…

One of five modules in the curriculum development series of the 16-module series designed to train vocational education curriculum specialists, this module is intended for use in classes or individual study arrangements at the preservice or inservice level by students with varying amounts of experience in vocational education. (These modules are…

Research on the effect of small-group instruction on students' second language classroom experience, as well as strategies for teachers, are examined. Eight foreign language teachers observed their student teachers an average of 11 times each on randomly-selected days over an 8-week observation period, generating a total of 5,288 "snapshots" of…

Reform documents have provided a framework for advancing science education (e.g., The Australian National Science Standard Committee, 2002), but omit the need to assess preservice teachers prior knowledge for designing effective learning programs. A pretest-posttest 34-item survey linked to the course outcomes (associated with four constructs)…

Suggestions for improving conversation groups in the intermediate and advanced English as a second language classroom are considered with attention directed to design of the activities, preparation of the individuals involved, and selection of the subject matter. In addition, factors that cause conversation groups to fail are discussed. A…

The document provides very thorough guidelines for planning, implementing, and evaluating "character education," (or moral/values education, or citizenship education) in elementary and secondary schools. Character education promotes students' positive and realistic self-image, respect for others, and decision-making skills for participation in…

This first volume contains the rationale and overview, program organizational structure, and most of the program elements for a model intended to be adaptable by a variety of teacher training institutions for the development and implementation of such a program. (volume 2, SP 002 148, contains the remainder of the program components and models for…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on human resource development (HRD) effectiveness and transfer of learning. "Factors Affecting Transfer of Training in Thailand" (Siriporn Yamnill, Gary N. McLean) discusses how the Learning Transfer System Inventory was validated in Thailand by administering it to 1,029 employers and…

The fifth in a series of studies investigating the educational context and outcomes for high school students with disabilities, this study examined instruction provided in inclusive general education classes in three high schools in urban areas, three in suburban areas, and three in rural areas. Five ninth-grade classes, including biology,…

The 19th annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is organized around a model which views educational results as products of three sets of factors: the context and environment in which the education is provided, student characteristics, and school programs and services. Section 1, on…

Project LEAP (Learning English-for-Academic-Purposes) is a three-year faculty development and supplemental instruction partnership to improve the academic literacy skills of native-born, immigrant, and international language minority students. Course teams composed of discipline faculty, peer study group leaders, and professional language…

Topics of NECC '98 (National Educational Computing Conference) papers presented at this conference on technology in education include: digital portfolios; technology-integrated multidisciplinary curriculum design; a virtual Web site; a computer literacy course; Internet projects for various subjects; staff development; music videos; interaction of…

This handbook, which was developed for federal managers, explains how low-cost and no-cost training methods developed in the private sector and the services and support available from federal human resource development (HRD) offices can be used to build a smarter and more productive work force. Presented in part 1 are the following: seven…

This document presents the results of a project to develop new designs for career and technical education (CTE) at the secondary and postsecondary levels in the context of the process and recommendations used in two previous projects that identified new designs for comprehensive high schools and two-year postsecondary institutions. The document is…