This book presents the background to the current shift in language education towards action-oriented/action-based teaching, and provides a theorization of the Action-oriented Approach (AoA). It discusses the concepts and theories that paved the way for the AoA and explores their relevance for the way language education is conceived and implemented…

This paper proposes a model for youth leadership education based on adolescent development and leadership research in an effort to provide practitioners with a practical blueprint to aid their creation and implementation of high school leadership programs. By focusing on student leader development areas which school level educators can affect,…

How can schools effectively prepare students for life after high school? With the accountability standards set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), there are many theories regarding standardized testing. Many schools today are adopting the goal of preparing all students for the college or the workplace. This review of current literature…

Discusses the positive and negative aspects of outcome-based education. Also included in the discussion are recommendations for the successful implementation of outcome-based education. (ZWH)

This paper is designed to help educators to incorporate the competencies developed by the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) into their curricula. (SCANS is a commission composed of representatives of education, business, labor, and state government established in 1990 to define a common core of skills that constitute job…

The article presents a six-step procedure for analyzing spelling errors, selecting instructional tactics, and setting performance standards for correcting persistent spelling errors. (DB)

The importance of active student involvement is stressed in this discussion of a competency-based approach to career exploration. Five steps used in developing a one-semester, eighth-grade business exploration course are presented and described. Methods of teaching such a unit and advantages to this approach are discussed. (CT)

School television programs are keyed by this matrix to social studies competency-based curriculum objectives for grades 9-12. The matrix covers 7 television series. The first 2 series, "Consumer Connection" and "Consumer Squad," each contain 7 programs recommended for grade 9 legal, political, and economic systems studies.…

Noting that teachers wishing to increase students' listening skills must focus on modification of specific causes of ineffective communication behavior rather than theorizing about generic symptoms, this paper describes a competency oriented approach for improving listening skills. The paper first provides a rationale for improving listening…

This handbook for vocational educators reviews four instructional strategies that may be used in a vocational classroom to accommodate the special needs of the handicapped and/or disadvantaged student. The strategies are task analysis, mapping, flowcharting, and peer tutoring. For each strategy, examples are given that incorporate the three…

The management of competency-based vocational education curriculum in the classroom is first described by following one student's progress through the system. Then helpful hints on monitoring, planning, and organizational procedures are suggested for good management. (BM)

A consultant in business education presents his system for developing strategies of individualized instruction in using commercial materials designed for group instruction. To illustrate the process he includes seven figures of pages from an accounting text, with marginal notes to direct the student to an individualized supplement. (MF)

Describes a behavioral approach to interpersonal communication instruction that helps students develop competencies relevant to social interaction through analysis, practice, implementation, and evaluation. (PD)

Presents a rationale for using a Mastery Learning approach to competency-based education in public speaking. Identifies assumptions and applications of such an approach and describes procedures for teaching public speaking competence on this basis. (JMF)