Studies conducted by Rand Corporation suggested that students did not need to be taught generic skills and work-related attitudes in actual workplaces. Such instruction could occur effectively at schools in traditional stand alone classrooms. To develop an instructional model for teaching generic skills, researchers used ethnographic methods to study the workings of eight high school classrooms. They found evidence that classrooms that successfully imparted generic skills and attitudes incorporated key structural and cultural features of workplaces, erasing some of the stereotypical distinctions between school and work. The specific characteristics common to classrooms that worked were organized into a model of generic skills instruction with four components: instructional goals, classroom design, teaching techniques, and school context. Teachers in successful classrooms had a mix of instructional goals. Relative emphasis varied by teacher and classroom, but in all cases generic skills and attitudes were targeted explicitly. These teachers pursued their instructional goals by situating learning in authentic practice and focused on intrinsic motivation. The role of the teacher was predominantly that of master to the students as apprentices. Some elements of school context affected classrooms in important ways. The schools' ability to provide resources affected students' access to knowledge. The most important aspect of professional teaching conditions was teacher autonomy. (YLB)