Introduces and defines strategic planning in organizational training, describes four current schools of curriculum theory--subject-centered, experience-centered, objectives-centered, and opportunity-centered--and illustrates how each theory can be modified to make training anticipate as well as react to organizational needs. (MBR)

This report summarizes and compares the views of six experts (three university professors and three elementary teachers) concerning elementary-level social studies teaching. The experts were asked to treat the topic comprehensively by addressing issues of curriculum (goals and objectives, selection and organization of content); instruction…

Examines differences between needs assessment (process of determining the gap between what is and what should be) and task analysis (definition and classification of tasks to improve job performance), and discusses the human productivity model NEBEAT (Needs Education and Training Model), which defines competency as synthesis of processes and…

Provides an introduction to the German educational theory of didaktik. Didaktik emphasizes critical thinking incorporated into content instruction. Although originally developed in the 19th century, didaktik has enjoyed renewed popularity within the last 10 years. Discusses the history of the theory and its impact on U.S. pedagogy. (MJP)

In this study two high school students participated in the revision of a technology curriculum. These students were paid to work through lessons with one of the original authors to provide input for final editing and rewriting. The students were matched to the intended population for which the materials were originally written--poorly motivated…

The U.S. public high school should return to a core curriculum which is defined as a broad consensus on the basic information and skills to which most young students should have been exposed by the time they graduate from high school. The duty of educators is to teach the skills and general information that enable educated persons to continue…

Five years ago Los Angeles Unified School District administrators began efforts to ensure that teachers teach students what they are expected to learn and test them accordingly. The initial stage of this projected curriculum alignment was first of all to define the essential skills to be taught in the elementary grades and provide a list of these…

This report describes four components of an instructional management program that was implemented by a large public school system in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1981. The four program components are the following: (1) A districtwide uniform curriculum; a districtwide standardized criterion referenced testing program; a performance-based student…

Presents a crucial German essay, originally published in 1958, that defined and introduced didaktik to a new generation of educators. In this incarnation, didaktik represents an educational approach that incorporates critical thinking (as defined by Adorno and Habermas) into both content and instruction. Briefly outlines the essentials of didactic…