Presents the nine basic abilities that need to be considered in examining the physical proficiency of job applicants and discusses methods for estimating more precisely the physical requirements of jobs. (IRT)

A case is made that typing, speaking, and playing music are members of a family of skills that can be studied within a common theory. (Editor)

The study examined the possible existence of a perceptual hierarchy which is systematically affected by the onset of adventitious visual impairment. Results with 80 persons with partial vision indicated a demarcation of difficulty between the simpler and more complex levels of the hierarchy. (DB)

Presents an approach to task sequencing that is based on a component-skills view of intelligence and learning. Related research in cognitive psychology and in computer based instruction is reviewed, and a cognitive model of human task sequencing is developed and then applied to an intelligent tutoring system for algebra. (39 references)…

A study to isolate some of the complex skills that nurses are expected to perform in current practice identified 54 skills and surveyed 167 staff nurses and 53 nurse executives to classify the expected level of performance for a new graduate. Results indicated that educators bear responsibility for learning about technology and incorporating it…

Examines the use the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), and provides evidence that the OPI can be used comfortably for such purposes as assigning oral skill grades, especially if examiners are trained to differentiate within levels and if scores are calibrated using a graduated scale. (GLR)

Explains output-based job descriptions, which describe the work rather than the worker. Topics include identifying job outputs; job analyses; identifying skills and competencies as support elements; and benefits over traditional job descriptions, including help in achieving business goals, use in strategic planning, clarifying role relationships,…

Study synthesizes 30 years of research relating to successful student affairs administration using meta-analysis techniques. Findings suggest that a successful student affairs administrator has skills such as administration, management, and human facilitation; knowledge of student development theory and functional responsibilities; and traits of…

In this article, the author discusses the assessment of children's year-end profiles. The key to creating a profile that will benefit parents as well as other teachers is to make sure it includes the most critical areas of development. It should also reveal the child's true range of functioning, including those areas in which he is strongest, even…

This paper outlines a novel approach to studying children's singing that enables a more accurate and global picture to be drawn of children's actual level of singing achievement across a range of tasks. It enables predictions to be made about their potential singing development in a formal school setting. It draws on a two-year longitudinal field…

In this article, the authors examine pre-service special education teacher reaction to and experience in a collaboratively taught higher education course. Forty-three full-time postbaccalaureate students participate in a course designed to examine critical issues in special education, taught by two faculty members, one specializing in mild and…

Validation studies of learning hierarchies usually examine whether task relationships posited a priori are confirmed by student learning data. This method was compared with a non-posited task relationship where all possible task relationships were generated and investigated. A learning hierarchy in a seventh grade mathematics study reported by…

A study examined the activity of the state technical committees that were mandated by the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. The study's main objectives were to identify (1) the methods that individual state technical committees used to develop and verify task lists and/or skill inventories; (2) the different reasons for selecting the job…

Preliminary findings of a study of assistance personnel, or "change agents," in urban school improvement programs, failed to show an association between the effectiveness of educational change agents and any particular skills they employed. The study did isolate a nummber of general and specific skills that study participants identified…

The study identified land-based outdoor leadership competencies deemed necessary by outdoor leaders in the western United States. Using resources such as outdoor leadership literature, competency-based teacher education manuals, consultation with outdoor leadership specialists in educational, private, and governmental agencies, and personal…