The stars closest to Earth are not particularly remarkable or exciting. They are average stars typical of the spiral arms of our Milky Way galaxy. In fact, until recently, most astronomy and Earth science textbooks ignored all but the largest of them to focus on distant, more exotic objects like red supergiants or black holes. The recent discovery…

Many teachers find developing a new lesson or course quite difficult. It would be nice to have all necessary information, lesson plans and assessment materials ready at hand. But most often, they find themselves on their own when it comes to lesson and course development. The author faced this situation when he was asked to develop a lesson on…

This document contains information, based on the instructional systems design model, about the development and delivery of a 10-minute video training program to teach college engineering technology students how to use a micrometer to measure to one thousandth of an inch. The students were taught the following: (1) to identify the parts of the…

This paper show instructors how to develop their own streaming multimedia presentations that can be loaded onto a schools' server and played by students over the Internet. Topics covered include: the use of courseware to create an online course or to complement face-to-face instruction; features of Oncourse, Indiana Universitys proprietary version…

In conjunction with United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's 40th anniversary, 1986 was named the International Year of Peace. During 1986, UNESCO selected the theme "peace" as an education project to be undertaken in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico,…

This module, one in a series of 127 performance-based teacher education learning packages focusing upon specific professional competencies of vocational teachers, deals with developing a lesson plan. Discussed in the first section of the module are the individual parts of the lesson plan and the way in which they fit together. In order to complete…

A sequel to the booklet "How Games and Simulations Can Be Used in Tertiary Education," this booklet begins by looking at ways in which participative exercises of the game/simulation/case study type can be used by teachers and trainers working in further and higher education. A process for the identification of a clearly-defined need for…

Developers who use the systems approach to training begin developing a lesson by identifying the skills and knowledge to be learned and the kinds of learning experiences required. The next step is to develop instructional segments. These segments include all instructor and trainee activities required to master the skill. Learning segments include…

This guide contains suggestions designed to guide educators in their efforts to produce competency-based instructional units. Discussed first are the nature of competency-based instruction and the need for materials. The next section deals with such administrative procedures as establishment of ownership of the materials, follow-through, credit…

This book is designed as a personal reference tool for K-12 teachers, distance educators, and corporate trainers integrating technology into the curriculum. "Part 1: Understanding the Basics of Instructional Technology" sets the stage with an introductory examination of the discipline of instructional technology. Part 1 contains chapters:…

This book is a guide for personnel responsible for implementation of a cross-curricular sex education project in schools. It complements and overlaps the contents of the "Teaching Materials" book which contains a set of cross-curricular modules suitable for use in secondary schools. Both books are designed to support other curricular…

This document contains information designed for sex education in secondary schools. The materials here are for classroom use, and share a number of features: (1) they consist of "modules" of various lengths to fit within subject areas; (2) they place no special demands on the skill of the teacher; and (3) they all contain a component for…

As part of the education reform movement seeking change in both teaching and teacher education, a graduate teacher education course at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, "Integrating Museum Resources into Classroom Instruction," offers teachers a chance to engage in problem solving for their own students through varied…

The book consists of 46 chapters by numerous authors, divided into six parts. Part 1, "The Moving Target: Instructional Development from a Philosophical Vantage Point," addresses the questions: To what extent is instructional design in fact a valid and thriving area? and To what extent and in what quarters is it considered to be a dying or…

The original intent of this project was to improve the quality of the elementary science component of the Utah State University elementary science preparation program. The original impetus for the project resulted from a combination of a desire to continually improve an already sound elementary program, local concern over the quality of science…