Rural schools in Utah responded to state and local calls for school reform by implementing Outcome Based Education (OBE) programs beginning in March 1984. Significant improvements in learning have occurred as measured by test scores. Workshops introduced rural educators to OBE which provided a philosophical and operational framework for school…

The curriculum matrix is a tool to help curriculum coordinators, principals, and superintendents specify, justify, and align curriculum and instructional time to district specified standards. The problem the curriculum matrix solves is connecting the curriculum; that is, tracing an idea from initial justification to its placement in the curriculum…

Alternative approaches to education can work well if they are based on common sense and sound research. Recent research findings are reported for alternative approaches to three areas: curriculum, testing and measurement, and instruction. (TE)

During the past two decades, there have been several highly visible developments in education, including behavioral objectives, criterion-referenced test interpretations, the mastery model in instruction, performance-based instructional programs, competency testing, and accountability. This paper is an attempt to weave these various developments…

This document consists of assorted supplementary materials for a conference session on the topic of "Improving Education in America through Staff Development and Learning Technology." It contains (1) a preface; (2) a list of assumptions central to West Virginia's educational reform model; (3) a statement of the session's basic purpose,…

John Carroll's concept of mastery learning (ML) is described, and an ML model which can be used by directors of music-performing groups is presented. According to Carroll, any student, when given direction and time to follow that direction, can move along a time line from a state of inability to a state of ability. Tasks defined in behavioral…

The development of an instructional package for use with selected readings in a cultural anthropology course at the College of Marin is outlined in this paper. Introductory material indicates that an effort was made to create a learning package based on formal objectives spanning the readings in the course text, to respond to student needs, and to…

A comprehensive, integrated physical education system that has quality and relevance for handicapped students and their nonhandicapped peers is proposed. The Achievement Based Curriculum (ABC) Model is a systematic decision-making process for an instructional system that incorporates curriculum, instruction, assessment, and evaluation in one…

This paper examines problems involved in designing an integrated system to teach and assess critical thinking skills in the classroom, and describes the Monitor Achievement in Pittsburgh (MAP) Critical Thinking Project, an attempt to draw upon research from diverse disciplines in developing an effective pilot project in the Pittsburgh public…

This paper analyzes mastery learning as an alternative to curriculum planning and discusses implementation of the strategy in a prekindergarten through eighth-grade school district in Red Bank, New Jersey. The paper briefly describes district schools and circumstances affecting the school board's decision to implement mastery learning; discusses…

This book is a manual for educators to use in curriculum planning and development. Chapter 1 examines the nature of curriculum and its relationship to instruction by (1) defining curriculum and the four main levels of curriculum work (curriculum policy, field of study, program of studies, and course) and (2) distinguishing between six types of…

This loose-leaf compendium includes three types of brief research summaries: "topical synthesis,""close-ups," and "snapshots." The single topical synthesis is entitled "School-Community Collaboration to Improve the Quality of Life for Urban Youth and Their Families" (Kathleen Cotton). Close-ups consist of…

Most constructive critics of education agree that today's students are better than any in United States history. Yet problems like competency shortages and outmoded curricula remain. When schools were basically "socializers" (1885-1957), praise outstripped criticism--until 1957's Sputnik. In response, Congress initiated the National Aeronautics…

This paper reports on a study of the 1980 Maryland State Department of Education school improvement project utilizing Mastery Learning. It examines the instructional process implementation, the impact of one pilot school, and the statewide program through observation, surveys, interviews, document analysis, and participant self-reports. Data were…