College summer institutes should be allowed to coach high school debaters on the current high school debate topic. Every individual forensic practice must be viewed as part of a dynamic process, the totality of which ought to be assessed for its competitive and educational balances. The activity of debate becomes endangered not when students allow…

A three phase study evaluated the comparative effectiveness of various features that comprise a postsecondary writing program. The first phase of the study examined the college composition programs on the 19 California State University (CSU) campuses to identify and describe distinctive program features. The second and third phases measured both…

Current issues in educational communications and technology are addressed in this collection of 48 papers, in which research reports predominate. Topics discussed include factors related to the learner, e.g., field dependence/independence, learning strategies, information processing, spatial ability, cognitive style, and cognitive strategies.…

Instructional Accomplishment Information (IAI) Systems data bases provide the opportunity for new and powerful studies relevant to educational policy issues at a local and/or national level. This report discusses the methodology for "schooling policy studies." The procedures are illustrated using a yet-to-be-completed analysis of the Los…

Assessment and decision-making practices of a national sample of 60 teachers serving handicapped preschool children were examined. Teachers were surveyed regarding the assessment information they and other professionals collect on their students and how they use it in educational programming. It was found that teachers used behavioral observations…

This paper examines the changing instructional role of the high school librarian from 1951 to 1984 to determine: (1) if the purported changes in the instructional role have been fictional or factual; (2) if the changes were those of substance or of form; (3) if the changes represented a process of growth and development in direct relationship to…

Specially designed for teenagers, this experience-based training program of five units provides information about working with young children and is the learner's counterpart of a separate set of materials designed for leaders working with the teens. Units of instruction concern working in a team, observing the world of the child, facilitating the…

The Los Angeles Community College District's Core Curriculum Development Laboratory (CCDL), a task force of faculty members and resource staff, was established to identify successful teaching practices and programs within the district, sponsor curricular projects, assist in designing new instructional models, and make recommendations to promote…

The use of different types of media for distance education, and the examination and evaluation of a computer-based distance training program in Thailand are the focus of this paper. After a discussion of the characteristics and types of media-based distance education--including print-based, audio-based, video-based, and computer-based…

A description is provided of the development of a course in business communication for office administration majors at Evergreen Valley College (EVC) in California. The steps involved in the development of the course are explained, including: (1) a review of the educational and business literature on business communication; (2) a review of current…

This chapter explains how the Guided Design method of teaching can be used to solve problems, and how this method was used in the development of a new method of teaching. Called the Feedback Lecture, this method is illustrated through an example, and research data on its effectiveness is presented. The Guided Decision-Making Process is also…

Six of the 39 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Public Schools' Chapter 1 participating schools, as part of the school-based budgeting process, allocated a portion of their Chapter 1 resource allocation for on-site intensive staff development activities. Three schools--Alamosa, Chaparral, and Duranes--agreed to utilize the time of a Support for…

Developers who use the systems approach to training begin developing a lesson by identifying the skills and knowledge to be learned and the kinds of learning experiences required. The next step is to develop instructional segments. These segments include all instructor and trainee activities required to master the skill. Learning segments include…

A complete bibliographic reference and an abstract are provided for each of 66 publications of the Human Factors Laboratory from 1979 through 1983, including in-house and contractor-developed documents. Documents are indexed by source, author, and subject matter. Publications address such topics as adaptive training, air combat maneuvering,…

A review of the literature reveals little evidence that classroom decision making is an important component in teaching effectiveness. Studies investigating decision making before (preactive) and during (interactive) instruction indicate that teachers are preoccupied with activity flow and procedural concerns rather than with increasing student…