An attempt is made in this book to make teachers aware of some informal techniques which can be used to diagnose strengths and weaknesses in the language arts abilities of students. The techniques are economical in the use of time but are fairly comprehensive in the information gathered. They have been tested and refined by more than 1,000…

A personalized learning strategy (PLS) was successfully employed in the small group discussion unit of a basic speech communication course. This document describes the rationale behind PLS and discusses ways to implement it. An outline of the small group discussion unit in which PLS was used matches the necessary learning experiences to the…

The workshop consisted of an informal presentation and a question-and-answer period. Individualization in foreign language instruction is defined as any kind of device that would allow focusing on any one student's needs with respect to: (1) time or speed; (2) materials or content; (3) approach or method; and (4) goals or objectives. Several…

Although general agreement exists about the importance of inservice teacher education, there is general dissatisfaction with its typical large-group implementation. A more successful strategy is to devise inservice programs that are based on the individual objectives of individual teachers. In such programs principals plan cooperatively with each…

Describes an individualized aviation course for high school seniors. The course, broken down into Learner Education Guides with students progressing at their own learning rates, consists of the history of aviation, career opportunities, the space program, basic aeronautics, navigation, meteorology, Federal Aviation Administration regulations and…

Describes an automated device for teaching and testing the pronunciation of a language to a non-native speaker without the assistance of a trained teacher. This device was developed at the Research Institute of Logopedics and Phoniatrics at the University of Tokyo. Available from SIGLASH, c/o ACM, P.O. Box 12105, Church St. Station, New York, NY…

A report on recent endeavors to improve the doctoral program in the Spanish department at the University of Connecticut. It also draws upon resolutions of 1972 conferences on graduate study at Wichita State University and the University of Texas. Individualized instruction, improved student-teacher relations and revision of examinations are basic…

Foreign language students, teachers and administrators in Erie County, New York, were interviewed to determine their attitudes toward grouping pupils according to achievement in foreign languages. Some teachers were found to prefer ability grouping, but administrators favored heterogeneous grouping. Average achievers and male students favored…

Mastery criterion manipulation may produce dramatic behavioral effects. Results of a study investigating three undergraduate classes indicate that the 90 percent criterion class was inferior to both the 80 percent and the varied 60-90 percent criterion class on several measures, including degree of accuracy and final grade. (BJG)

Three practical classroom suggestions including a course outline with a sociological perspective, a discussion regarding the use of moot trials as a teaching strategy, and a lesson sheet format to assist in the organization of individualized materials are presented. (Author/DE)

This course blueprint was first drawn up in 1968 and was later coordinated by the Department of Russian at Birmingham University. Problems of self-instructional courses, details of a particular Russian course and why it had to be changed, and possible improvements for similar course are given. (SC)