This handbook is designed as a quick reference for first-year teachers who find themselves in an assessment driven environment with little experience to help make sense of the language, underlying philosophy, or organizational structure of the assessment system. The handbook begins with advice on developing and evaluating effective learning…

Selecting student performance aims (proficiency levels stated in terms of rate of correct and incorrect responding) is an integral feature of the precision teaching and learning process. Descriptive and developmental research on appropriate aims is summarized, and methods for determining appropriate aims for students are described. (JDD)

A "dial a strategy" device for adding variety to classroom teaching is described. Four concentric, rotating disks of decreasing size offer 4,096 possible combinations of suggestions for student thinking skills, class activities, teaching strategies, and behavioral objectives. (MJL)

Discusses four major elements of computer assisted instruction (CAI) program (instructional objectives; presentation, interaction, feedback); describes attributional consistency, which involves developing CAI programs so each major element has a common topography (e.g., to discriminate, describe, demonstrate, depict graphically); and presents…

An instructional interaction model for use with severely handicapped students is presented. The three stages in the development of instructional management are described, and it is explained that the model is designed to increase interaction between the teacher and students to facilitate the student's acquisition of a specified behavior. (PHR)

This paper is intended to help instructional designers who work in the technical arena when moving from tasks to performance objectives. Guidelines are provided for both the analysis and the design phases, and a task analysis worksheet is provided. (three references) (DB)

The overall objective of the "Making Changes" program, which is the subject of this facilitator handbook, is to help immigrant women in Canada establish more meaningful lives, specifically in terms of employment. After briefly describing the content of the program (career planning, information sharing and getting, job search skills, the…

Three basic evaluation styles are discussed: (1) Process approach--organization, comportment and presentation; (2) Presage--qualifications, personal qualities, physical appearance; (3) Product--learning outcomes. The pros and cons of these evaluation styles are presented, and suggestions are made to make evaluation more useful in determining…

Teachers are provided with a model and general recommendations for efficient and effective instructional planning. The model, a map, begins with an identification of the major concepts, skills, and attitudes to be taught. A graphic route is then charted for logical planning towards achieving these instructional objectives. Nine…

Discusses three phases of instructional design (ID)--definition of instructional parameters, analysis and synthesis of instructional alternatives, and implementation of instructional plan--and presents a 15-step ID model. Included for each step are a descriptive name, boxed example, and rationale and (as applicable) current state of technology for…

Describing key instructional elements in each of Gagne's five categories of learning objectives, this article outlines numerous teaching strategies drawing illustrations from the social studies area. Also outlined are 10 steps to achieve multiple objectives and reduce problems of matching objectives, learning modes, and teaching strategies. (SB)

This guide is intended to assist vocational and technical education teachers in implementing competency-based vocational education programs. The first section discusses what competency-based education (CBE) is and is not, the varying degrees to which a course or program can be competency based, and several different approaches to implementing CBE…

Teacher performance areas, criteria for evaluating them, and specific descriptors of behavior satisfying each criterion are supplied in this document. Performance areas and criteria for teacher evaluation were selected by the five school districts participating in the School Improvement Model project. The teacher performance areas selected for…

Intended for preservice regular education teachers, the modules in Series I are intended to supply basic information about exceptional and normal children, how they learn and how their performance may be assessed in the classroom. Following a series overview are sections which address: characteristics of normal and exceptional children, classroom…

Continues an earlier paper which dealt with the basic concepts concerning the learning process that should be used as a starting point for the instructional design process. Instructional decisions that should be taken at the macro design level are discussed. Twenty-five references are listed. (LLS)