In this webinar, Dr. Stephanie Hirsh, Executive Director of Learning Forward, presented the research on effective PLCs and shared her experiences in creating, assessing, and leading PLCs. This Q&A addressed questions participants had for Dr. Hirsh following the webinar. The webinar recording and PowerPoint presentation are also available.

In this webinar, Dr. Charles Basch, Richard March Hoe Professor of Health and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, presented the causal connections between health factors and the motivation and ability to learn. This Q&A addressed the questions participants had for Dr. Basch following the webinar. The webinar recording and…

This excerpt from the opening plenary asks evaluators to consider two questions regarding learning and evaluation: (a) How do evaluators know if, how, when, and what people are learning during an evaluation? and (b) In what ways can evaluation be a learning experience? To answer the first question, evaluators can apply the commonplaces of…

Twenty training professionals in different occupational groups rated eight steps in the training process from development to execution to evaluation. Accountability proved to be a key factor in training success, while needs assessment is usually not well executed. (SK)

Since guidelines were laid down by the Council of State in Finland in 1978, vocational adult education has been the subject of extensive planning and preparation. The result has been reports, concrete experiments, and development projects including vocational adult education centers. (JOW)

Until 1985, higher education was a growth industry, and new programs were a by-product of that growth. Now, new programs must be justified by extensive data analysis. This trend and others indicate governing boards are taking the new-program approval process seriously. (MLW)

To assure accountability to educational policy developed by elected and appointed leaders, agencies and organizations must adopt high quality evaluation designs tailored to meet three basic tenets: (1) different processes for policy formation and demonstration of accountability; (2) clear accountability expectations built into policies; (3)…

Physical educators will soon be confronted with having to demonstrate measurable and recognizable results of their teaching, particularly in terms of student physical, recreational, and social skills; this requires not only a focus on broad objectives, but a specific focus on short-term objectives that can be taught systematically. Behavioral…

Several models of curriculum and staff development are described to provide guidance toward the goal of harmoniously blending a humanized curriculum and humanized instruction. The author compares the "explosive" and "implosive" designs for program development and instruction and argues that the implosive design should be adopted and that…

This paper outlines a proposal for "local program coordination" and assesses its consequences; discusses its educational rationale; describes how local coordination would work and what issues must be explored in assessing its merits; and looks ahead to changes that will affect the prospects for implementing this proposal. (Author/BW)

To effectively respond to the increased focus on educational accountability, teacher education institutions must integrate curriculum courses into their general programs of study. (LH)

Five criteria for judging college or university performance indicators (PIs) used to guide strategic decision making are outlined. The criteria address: purpose; alignment of PIs throughout the organization or system; alignment of PIs across inputs, processes, and outcomes; capacity to accommodate a variety of evaluation methods; and utility in…

Directed to Canadian directors of centers for adult education, this document describes what constitutes quality in a center for adult education and tells how to develop a high quality center. The document consists of three chapters and two appendices. Chapter 1 explains the five dimensions that determine the quality of a center and the 5 factors…

The danger of using student performance as a basis for budgeting and program accountability is that it promises accountability through simple measurement of complex realities, with qualitative measures overwhelming less precise qualitative measures. (MSE)

After approximately 20 years of developing collaborative delivery systems for children with disabilities, educational researchers have developed an extensive knowledge base. In an effort to identify potential strategies for developing and institutionalizing school-linked coordinated service delivery systems for at-risk youth, this paper examines…