Web-based (or online) learning provides an unprecedented flexibility and convenience to both learners and instructors. However, large online classes relying on instructor-centered presentations could tend to isolate many learners. The size of these classes and the wide dispersion of the learners make it challenging for instructors to interact with…

Words Work! and Community Action Head Start have been working together for seven years to provide training, consultation, mentoring, and resources to teachers in pilot classrooms as they learned to implement effective early literacy strategies. In its work with teachers, Words Work! developed a culture "where ongoing assessment, reflective…

As the lead Advanced Placement (AP) English teacher at Suncoast High School, a magnet school, the author started a pilot program teaching the lowest quartile group of African American students the AP English Literature and Composition course their senior year. Their educational background was limited, and several were not able to write a complete…

Background: The outcomes of a pilot program of staff development in communication support in the context of observed changes in student behaviour states and interactive abilities are reported. Participant reports about the impact of the program on their professional practices are included. Method: Six teachers and six teacher aides in special…

This article discusses a pilot project applying podcast technology to a management course. The project was designed, implemented, and evaluated in spring 2006 in conjunction with the Management and Supervisory Development program at Athens Technical College (Athens, Georgia). The project goals were to evaluate the pedagogical, logistical, and…

In 1997, the government of Ontario announced the establishment of the Learning Opportunities Task Force (LOTF) to develop and administer a series of pilot projects to enhance the transition of students with specific learning disabilities into postsecondary education, and to identify what supports, services and accommodations would assist these…

The purpose of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) figural-response project was to design a prototype computer assessment system for delivering and scoring figural-response items in the domain of cell and molecular biology and to begin to investigate properties of the item format. This report describes progress to date in an effort that is…

A statewide effort to identify stressors in state-level social service institutions in Iowa led one state health agency to establish a stress management project. A pilot program singularly focused on communication as the key tool in reducing stress and managing stress. A longitudinal study surveyed agency employees at the Iowa Veteran's Home in…

This paper chronicles the Teaching Mathematics Using Interactive Videodisk (TMMUIV) pilot project. The project emerged in response to the need to train pre-service teachers in, among other things, the use of mathematics manipulatives. The project now can offer a video database and pilot instructional program that combines full-motion video,…

Little work has been done regarding the overall assessment of quality of computer science graduates at the undergraduate level. This paper reports on a pilot study at the University of Alabama of a prototype computer science outcomes assessment designed to evaluate the breadth of knowledge of computer science seniors. The instrument evaluated two…

The 21-member Task Force on Archiving of Digital Information was formed in December 1994 and spent a year studying what is needed to make digital libraries stable, accessible, and valid. Their final report is divided into the following sections: (1) "Introduction," which examines the fragility of cultural memory in a digital age and the…

The Work Keys (trademark) system of the American College Testing program has combined assessments of listening and writing into a single test administration. The Listening and Writing assessment uses independent scorings of the examinee's written responses to audiotaped prompts to assess both listening and writing skills separately. This paper…

Research has confirmed the link between a number of psychosocial issues (including limited/lacking social networks, learned helplessness, substance abuse, and emotional problems) and homelessness. Research has further established that those psychosocial issues are interlinked by the common denominator of depression, the recognized cognitive…

This document contains three papers presented at a symposium on evaluation systems in human resource development (HRD) moderated by Jerry Gilley at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development. "PLS [Performance-Learning-Satisfaction] Evaluation System: Sales Communication Case Study" (Richard A. Swanson, Timothy R.…

A pilot project evaluated the learning experience of adults taking one of seven creative writing courses in Edinburgh, Scotland (five courses run by Edinburgh University's Centre for Continuing Education and two run by Lothian Region Community Education). Data were obtained from a survey completed by 45 students (of 87 students receiving…