Surveys and follow-up interviews were conducted in 1978 and 1980 respectively at the Navy's Instructional Program Development Centers to determine the need for the development or modification of authoring aids (manuals containing detailed procedural guidelines) to support designers/developers in producing high quality, usable instructional…

Current issues in educational communications and technology are addressed in this collection of 51 papers, which are mainly research reports. The first five papers were prepared for a symposium on the status of research in instructional technology, an introduction and four discussions of divergent points of view in the current controversy over the…

The first of two papers describes the author's experiences teaching a narrow-cast instructional development course at Indiana University. Among the disadvantages of the experience were the logistics of coordinating the instructional activities between two campuses, additional preparation time requirements, diminished student-teacher interactions,…

A workshop for nurse and health educators involved in the development of distance education study materials, methods, and delivery systems was held in February 1987 at the Center for Distance Learning at Gippsland Institute. Goals were: (1) to explore distance education approaches to meet nursing education needs; (2) to develop skills to plan,…

Before teachers begin to teach Standard American English (SAE), the schools must strive for a greater tolerance among the public and the school community toward Non-Standard American English (NSAE) dialects. Through the use of a number of motivational approaches, students retain the right to their own dialects and language while learning SAE as a…

In July 1986, the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools began a 3-year study of the use of evaluative data in instructional planning and decision making in schools. This report summarizes the second year of the investigation, in which case studies of evaluative data use were conducted in one elementary school (kindergarten through grade 5) and one…

The first of five sections in this paper describes the role of the Agency for Instructional Technology (AIT) in the formation of consortia for the development of curricula and the production of learning materials using electronic technologies in the United States and Canada. The processes of instructional design and formative evaluation adopted by…

Both interview and direct observation data were collected via on-site visits with the training directors at 22 U.S. training centers which had been identified as the best training facilities in order to examine why the instructional methods, techniques, and media changes in use had been tried and adopted, and to identify the trends these methods…

A collection of 16 articles addressing the future of faculty and instructional development in higher education is presented. The articles are categorized under four main subject headings: (1) Faculty Development: Where It Is; Where It's Going; (2) Building Successful Faculty Development Programs; (3) Issues and Approaches in Faculty and…

This curriculum guide for Fort Worth schools covers grade 6 social studies, Texas history/geography, United States history/citizenship, pointers on how to study, and cultural studies. The guide includes the following materials: a statement of philosophy and broad goals for each content area; objectives organized around broad content goals or…

A study determined how direct instruction is being used and why it is being used the way that it is. Data were collected through observations and interviews from teachers and principals in 12 elementary schools involved in a school improvement project based, in part, on direct instruction. Results show that, in general, the elements of direct…

Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching (FAST) is a program which is intended to facilitate student transition from the general science process programs of elementary schools to the discipline-oriented programs of high school. This guide has been developed to provide an overview of the total program as well as a description of the…

The application of behavioral and cognitive learning theories to the design of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) at the college level is discussed. A model of instructional design and the unique qualities of computers are also briefly reviewed. The general model of instruction, which is used for designing a curriculum, has five major components:…

Factors influencing teachers' decision making in the classroom were studied. Fourteen elementary school teachers in five schools were observed and interviewed. Observations focused on formal, organized classroom activities, and interviews centered on what basis, or for what reason, a particular procedure or curriculum material was employed. Types…

An inservice workshop program for elementary school teachers in Israel helps them in coping with students of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. Program topics include discussion of: individual differences, pluralistic views of education, tests and measurement methodology, and new instructional strategies. Emphasis is placed on values…