At the heart of the effort to enact and scale up successful school reforms is the need for more robust links between research and practice. One promising approach is design development, a methodology widely used in other fields and only recently adapted to education, which offers a disciplined process for identifying practical problems, assessing…

This guide is intended to help bridge the gap between the goal of fitting individuals for gainful and satisfying employment and the realities of the labor market which must provide that employment. It provides occupational program planners with simple suggestions on how to incorporate pertinent information into the planning process at minimal cost…

The Midwest Talent Search Project is an effort to identify and provide an appropriate accelerated curriculum for gifted secondary school students in the midwest. Many aspects of the project are discussed here, including testing, programming, benefits, and implications for curriculum reform. (Author/MCG)

This handbook is designed to assist staff development committees in planning and conducting effective staff development programs. Administrative rules governing the establishment of staff development programs are set forth and clarified. A model for staff development describes the following steps for developing a program: (1) establish a board…

Little empirical research has focused specifically on the process of identifying comprehensive training needs for department chairs and school directors in public universities. A case study is presented to demonstrate the systematic design and implementation of a program to comprehensively assess the training needs of department chairs and school…

Based primarily on the experience of three childhood injury prevention demonstration projects, this manual provides state Title V program directors with an action guide for developing targeted childhood injury prevention programs. The manual is divided into four sections: background; program planning; program design; and program implementation and…

Developed for use in New York State elementary school social studies program evaluations, this guide outlines procedures and suggests the design of forms for identifying key questions, gathering and analyzing relevant data, and developing plans for program improvements. It is intended to assess strengths and weaknesses within current programs as a…

When designing a program to improve the critical thinking skills of students, it is important to identify the specific learning outcomes for which to strive. In addition, the instructor must determine why students are not currently exhibiting the kind of critical thinking skills desired in order to develop the appropriate techniques and methods to…

An effective staff development program for rural teachers will have identified the needs to be met, will incorporate good management principles, and will make use of a variety of resources--the community itself, nonprofessional staff, business and industry, and shared teaching efforts. Distinctive staff development needs of rural teachers may…

An in-progress staff development program in a small, rural school district in South Carolina strives to make teaching and supervising more rewarding to the staff member while at the same time improving instruction for students in the schools. The program is the result of attempts by the school district to survive through staff development. With…

The guide is one section of a resource kit designed to assist Peace Corps language instruction coordinators in countries around the world in understanding the principles underlying second language learning and teaching and in organizing instructional programs. This section addresses design and development of language curricula. An introductory…

This publication combines four sets of guidelines developed in 1980 to give direction to guidance program development in the public schools of Virginia. It consists of loose-leaf sheets color-coded according to whether the items are applicable at all levels (white), for elementary school guidance (beige), for middle schools (blue) or for secondary…

This document is a technical guide designed for use in conjunction with the revised guidelines for staff development in Mississippi schools. It outlines and explains a step-by-step process for planning and implementing a staff development program that should foster the changes necessary to improve student and school performance throughout the…

This guide is intended to serve as a reference and procedural tool for use by state and local decision makers in guiding existing and future public education-based job placement efforts in Michigan. The first section gives an overview of job placement in Michigan public education and the rationale for public education-based job placement; it also…

The guide is one section of a resource kit designed to assist Peace Corps language instruction coordinators in countries around the world in understanding the principles underlying second language learning and teaching and in organizing instructional programs. This section focuses on staff development for language teachers. An introductory chapter…