The Adult Tutoring Program within the Literacy Center of West Michigan has been running monthly professional developments (PDs) (known as tutor in-services) for volunteer tutors since early 2021. All in-services fit into at least one of the categories of strategies, life skills, civics, next steps, or digital literacy. The team has been able to…

As early-career Extension educators challenged by societal, structural, agricultural, and fiscal trends, we designed a multiyear educational program to support the diverse needs of emerging specialty crop producers in northwest Michigan. This article presents outcomes of that program. We explore how Extension professionals can develop impactful…

This article describes three service-learning projects implemented in three different ESL programs in the United States. Each description includes typical course goals, service-learning assignments, reflection activities, student learning outcomes, and pedagogical challenges. The first project was developing digital literacy through…

It has been three years since Race to the Top grant-winning states piloted new teacher evaluation systems and many of them have made considerable progress, yet according to media coverage and a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report published in April 2015, struggles remain and most grantees have asked to extend the timetables for…

Traditionally, journalism majors gain professional experience before graduation through internships, part-time or summer jobs, and campus media. Those avenues are often insufficient to adequately prepare them for the professional workplace and professional standards. This essay explores two of a journalism school's practice-based programs that…

Across the United States many chemistry departments are engaged in developing assessment plans. New guidelines from the American Chemical Society (ACS) Committee on Professional Training request a department's latest self-assessment and a plan for acting on the recommendations. This manuscript describes assessment practices at institutions ranging…

Until recently, states focused on ensuring the presence of a "highly qualified teacher" in every classroom. Under the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), this title described a teacher holding at least a bachelor's degree and the appropriate state license and…

This paper discusses a pilot study of the effects of a curriculum focus intervention on students' prealgebra achievement. Elements of the intervention include identification of high-priority learning objective; structured repeatable testing; and a coherent, rubric-based feedback component. This research differs from traditional mastery learning…

This booklet contains a set of elementary and secondary social studies performance objectives for the state of Michigan. In the introduction, the developers comment that the objectives are to be considered as minimal, and that most students will move beyond them. The objectives stress social studies skills and concepts; they are relatively content…

The manual was intended to clarify the relationship among annual goals, short-term instructional objectives and performance objectives for special education students in Michigan. An overview of state and federal requirements is followed by analysis of the annual goals (general statements relating to a skill area without specific reference to…

The article lists and discusses examples of social studies performance objectives developed by the state of Michigan for both elementary and secondary schools. (RM)

A list of behavioral objectives to be achieved by the Kalamazoo school system was drawn up for the period May 1, 1972 to June 30, 1973. Items in the list were designed to show the top priority directions for the school system and to serve as accountability criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the present administration. The objectives…

A list of behavioral objectives to be achieved by the Kalamazoo school system was drawn up for the period 1973-74. Items in the list were designed to show the top priority directions for the school system and to serve as accountability criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the present administration. Accountability is conceived in terms of…

This report discusses one elementary school's implementation of a system of teaching and testing by objectives in compliance with a Michigan State Board of Education accountability model. The model used by the school called for (1) goals developed by each building; (2) performance objectives identified for subdivisions of schools, for teachers,…

This study determined the effects of health instruction upon the Objective Reference Test (ORT) scores of students in grades one through five of the Troy School District in Troy, Michigan. In September 1971, all elementary teachers in Michigan were instructed to begin teaching substance use and abuse. An Elementary Health Committee was established…