Preoccupation with the science of educational evaluation has led educators to overlook the art of evaluation, the ability to make quick and accurate assessments, usually without statistical props. This paper suggests common-sense steps to insure accurate assessment of innovative structures. (1) Know the nature and purpose of innovation. An urban…

This report discusses Friends World College (FWC), an experimental and innovative institution on Long Island. FWC is committed to creating change agents to bring about a better world. It considers itself an agency for bringing students into contact with resources, and it considers the functions of its program to be less in the realm of supplying…

The focus of this paper is on innovative evaluation, evaluation methodologies, and the development of evaluative instruments. Innovative evaluation is discussed as related to comprehensive evaluation, general evaluation with special emphasis, problems in comprehensive and general evaluations, and five components of an assessment model…

The mini-grant concept has emerged in recent years as a specific catalyst for the promotion of educational change. A mini-grant is a small grant awarded to an individual (usually a teacher or supervisor) in order that he might investigate or further develop an idea within the classroom or school setting. Developed in the State of New York, this…

Participants in a National Seminar on the Diffusion of New Instructional Materials and Practices included scientists and educators in the natural and social sciences and mathematics from universities, curriculum projects, and school districts throughout the United States. This document is the first of a series of working papers which were…

The mission of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory is to effect educational renewal through the development, testing, and implementation of innovative curriculums, strategies, and techniques. One of the Laboratory's four major programs--the Computer Technology Program--seeks to promote the Laboratory's mission by developing materials for…

A survey involving a 2.5 percent sample of teachers and principals in the San Francisco area was made to determine their interest in, knowledge of, and attitudes toward educational innovation, research and development. The answers received showed that: 1) principals were more interested in research than were teachers; 2) interest in new…

This article includes reports of meetings held in Dublin, Bonn, and Strasbourg of member State representatives of the Council of Europe. The first meeting discussed problem areas relating to the access to higher education, in particular the implications of the increasing admission restrictions and the diversification of postsecondary education.…

Many patterns are being suggested for modifying the higher education system in such a way that it will serve students not now being served or not adequately served. One approach to this issue is the "real student approach" which requires a careful examination of 2 factors and their interaction: (1) the presence of an identifiable group…

This report describes an instructional innovation program involving beginning teachers attempting to nongrade the Overlander Elementary School, British Columbia, Canada. Teacher training included weekly seminars, a weekend sensitivity experience, and a trip to California to observe schools operating under the nongraded system. The seminars…

Elementary teachers are often unwilling to implement new innovations in their school programs. This research study attempts to explore, through the use of simulation, why this reluctance occurs and to identify relationships of specific variables of teachers' expressed willingness to adopt innovations. Four samples of elementary classroom teachers,…

Case studies have shown that, while only a limited number of research-based products or processes are available for introduction into teacher education programs, involvement of trainers and teachers in originating and developing innovations is necessary if they are to become widespread and influential. Because innovation requires changed behavior…

A random sample of instructors (N=20) indicated that phenomena such as academic grade inflation, erosion of academic standards and student achievement levels, and too little emphasis on cognitive learning have to some degree been the consequence of many so-called innovative programs. (Author)

Traces the history of the Central Park East Elementary and Secondary Schools in Manhattan (NY), discusses the educational philosophy of the schools, and pinpoints changes Central Park East teachers have made in the traditional school structure. (PS)

As a form of warning to educators who might mistake novelty for value, a nationally recognized expert compares the present influx of microcomputers into academia, with similar and now historic moves by motion pictures, educational radio and television, language laboratories, and teaching machines. (JN)