Research shows that half of all teachers working in urban school settings leave the profession within five years, and many who choose to leave are the ones who are most effective (Coggins & Diffenbaugh, 2013.) Manual Rounds, a structured peer observation process based on the established practice of instructional rounds, was implemented at…

A four-phased project developed an impact assessment system for vocational education research and development personnel to indicate whether the resources spent for funded projects improved the programs identified by the research and development system. During Phase I, procedures were identified and developed for complying with the impact…

The CRU project identified and selected four Illinois secondary educational institutions effectively utilizing community resources (Mattoon, Orion, and Sycamore High Schools and the Little Wabash Cooperative Vocational Center) and provided on-site visitation of models. A published manual covers identification, development and utilization, and…

This document contains an impact assessment system for vocational education research and development personnel to determine whether resources spent for funded projects improved the programs. It is divided into four sections. Section 1 presents an introduction to the concept of impact, dissemination, and the impact assessment design. In section 2…

A study was conducted to investigate empirically the nature of program development, testing Everett Rogers' model of collective adoption of an innovation against the data, and distinguishing between the developmental patterns of high and low quality programs. Subjects were 34 school districts representing a 10 percent sample of 340 districts…

Described in this paper is one state's approach to the development and operation of a Research Coordinating Unit (RCU), which is designed to orchestrate research and development activities in vocational education within a state. This approach, based on Illinois's model, depicts program improvement as a continuous process involving such activities…

This executive summary highlights key elements of a paper produced by the National Center for Research in Vocational Education for persons interested in maximizing benefits from research and development in vocational education. This summary describes the legislative background, conceptual model, essential framework, and operational guidelines for…