Many organisations are experimenting with micro-credentials, while others are emerging to collect, publish and offer credentials. The decision to engage with these new forms of credentials will be influenced by many factors, as described in this guide. Each organisation will need to assess their own level of maturity as new and innovative forms of…

The Developmental Strategies for College Readiness and Success Resource Guide was produced by the Education Commission of the States and the Southern Regional Education Board for the "Countdown to 2015: Developmental Strategies to Advance Readiness in the Common Core Era" convening held April 21-23, 2014 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The…

As of the writing of this report, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are being implemented in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Approaches to implementing the standards, however, are highly varied. For the past 3 years, Research For Action (RFA) has been tracking how one approach to implementing the literacy standards--the Literacy…

In this article, the author writes from the perspective of a community college research practitioner, an institutional researcher whose daily work is intended primarily to affect policies, procedures and understanding of student learning and institutional effectiveness. The audience for this work is composed of faculty, administrators, staff,…

This guide is intended to assist individuals (including deans, department heads, project directors, supervisors of inservice education, and directors of professional development) who are responsible for organizing and/or administering performance-based instructor training programs. The concept of performance-based teacher…

The British Open Tech Program (OTP) is providing technical training and refresher courses to any adult interested in learning. The development, structure, and delivery of the program (which has had an ethusiastic response) are discussed. (JN)

One of a series to aid facilitators who train rural career guidance program staff, this module emphasizes the importance of planning in the development of a comprehensive career guidance program. A conceptual model for a planning and implementation cycle is presented, examined, and applied to the initial steps of program planning. Topics addressed…

Written mainly for the training practitioner who has some experience in the field, this book provides a practical approach for constructing good self-directed learning (SDL) programs. Chapter 1 considers SDL from the academic and business points of view, develops a working definition, and examines SDL's strengths and weaknesses. Part 1 covers…

This facilitator training guide, part of a series of 18 components, describes the needs assessment process as an essential feature of successful rural career guidance program planning. It is designed to provide participants with the skills necessary to conduct a local needs assessment and to identify student needs for career guidance programming.…

To have an effective career guidance and counseling program, it is necessary to know and use pertinent resources. This module provides facilitator guidelines for training staff in the use of three "Rural America Series" handbooks: (1) "Resource Assessment" which depicts a major step in the planning process, (2) "Career…

This module of the staff training series deals with the practical problems that arise when setting a framework for effective staff development, by concentrating on a number of experiential activities for accomplishing the staff development mission. Presented among the strategies for accomplishing total staff development are field trips to work…

This module helps the facilitator in training other educators in the effective use of a wealth of field test data gathered through case studies of all nine sites at which the Rural America Series has been rigorously field tested over a 15-month period. The module is particularly valuable in assisting program planners to anticipate and avoid errors…

This facilitator's module, part of the staff training for the "Rural America Series," presents the means for setting the keystone of successful program development, i.e., the establishment of appropriate, concrete, and measurable objectives. A distinction is made between behavioral (student) objectives and program objectives, and…

This appendix to the 14 facilitator guide modules allows for greater accountability in the training effort by providing additional and/or expanded evaluation procedures. Various suggestions for collecting evaluation information are listed for each module so that the facilitator can have flexibility in the selection of evaluation procedures.…

This module, one in a series of competency-based guidance program training packages, focuses on specific professional and paraprofessional competencies of guidance personnel. Modules in Category C suggest how to conduct, accomplish, or carry out selected career guidance program activities. The purpose of this module is to help career guidance…