This report considers ways in which schools should introduce new educational technologies, particularly microcomputers, into the classroom without "overselling" the value and usefulness of such technology. Resistance by the public and by teachers to previous educational innovations is examined, as are current barriers to the adoption of…

The way that state-level postsecondary education agencies currently apply, and could address, the concept of both system-level and institutional missions is discussed. The focus is on how to implement, reinforce, and evaluate established missions. Topics include the consultative process, tools for change, proactive strategic planning, and…

Four different methods for disseminating materials and activities used in a program to teach middle school students about aquatic environments were compared in Ohio. Six hundred teachers elected to attend one-and-a-half day workshops, 180 teachers attended workshops requiring 10 full days' participation, 200 teachers ordered materials by mail, and…

This curriculum guide is intended to assist teachers in helping their adult and teenage students learn to cope with their test anxiety. The introduction examines some of the causes of test anxiety and its negative ramifications from the standpoint of class placement, class grades, employment opportunities, and job advancement. General guidelines…

This paper presents a new format for conducting workshops for college students on eliminating self-defeating behaviors, based on a psychoeducational approach. The content of each of the eight lunch-hour sessions is described including the learned nature of self-defeating behaviors and the tracking identification and changing of such behaviors…

Part of the Small Town Strategy series, this publication is designed to help communities decide whether further local economic growth is possible and desirable. The publication provides a discussion outline to be used to study the costs and benefits of growing or not growing. Questions are listed which should be raised by the community when…

Despite the increase in the number of women entering the work force, the organizational setting is not typically conducive to upward mobility for most women. According to a variety of research studies, the impact of sex role stereotyping clearly suggests a set of communication behaviors appropriate for male managers and a different set appropriate…

The key elements necessary to establish an ombudsman office on the college campus are outlined. The central responsibility of the ombudsman is to represent the individual, not as an advocate, but as a neutral problem solver. Among the reasons for the creation of the campus ombudsman is a desire to counteract the futility felt by many students in…

The consultation model is applied to institutions of higher education in an approach that involves staff and/or faculty in administrative policies and decisions and that will promote innovative educational programs and generate productive working relationships among colleagues. It is suggested that in applying organizational development (OD) in…

This paper analyzes the feasibility and likelihood of the implementations of recommendations in three papers: "Understanding Intelligence: What's in It for Educators?" (Robert J. Sternberg and Richard K. Wagner); "Motivating Students to Learn: A Lifelong Perspective" (Deborah J. Stipek); and "Academic Work" (Walter…

Lessons learned by five small, private colleges about meeting the challenges facing higher education are described. Each of the colleges developed a unique educational program emphasizing the liberal arts that responds to current challenges. Each school has experienced increased enrollments and retention, growth in endowments and plants, larger…

Information to help faculty, administrators, and students at Michigan State University understand and eliminate sex discrimination on campus is presented in two fact sheets. On campus, sex discrimination is the limiting preconceptions that faculty, administrators, or students may have concerning appropriate and expected behaviors, abilities,…

Any attempts to improve excellence and equity in our schools must be predicated on the self-confident assumption that our schools can make a critical difference in the lives of children and young adults. Four propositions are offered as to what we know about school improvement: (1) public schools, individual classrooms, and school systems can and…

The Seattle Public Schools' effort to define and establish effective schools is described in this paper, a transcript of four coordinated presentations. Ellen Roe, the first presenter, recounts the design of the project. Planning, she states, was begun in late 1981 by a decision seminar (comprised of teachers, administrators, a community…

This paper describes the development and implementation of an evaluation system for a pediatric residency program to meet federal grant monitoring requirements. Continuous communication and collaboration with program participants characterized this naturalistic formative evaluation. Concerns identified through initial interviews of the 15…