Discusses the importance of identifying the audience and determining specific objectives when designing printed instructional materials that will communicate effectively and provides detailed guidelines for dealing with such design factors as content, writing style, typography, illustrations, and page organization. (MBR)

This paper contains a concise summary of the theory and practice of competency-based education, especially as it applies to adult education. The paper first defines competency-based education (CBE) and details the assumptions on which CBE is based. It then lists the critical components for effective CBE and cites the advantages of using a…

Identifies design, conceptualization, and evaluation deficiencies of foreign-language computer-assisted instruction (CAI) materials and defines attributes of effective CAI lessons. Formats for creating these lessons, an experiment for future research into effects and uses of these materials, and suggestions concerning role and uses in…

This document refines and develops a 1992 proposal by Great Britain's Further Education Unit (FEU) that all kinds of student achievement be documented within a common framework involving the following procedures: describing adult learners' achievements in terms of learning outcomes; grouping the learning outcomes into coherent units; defining the…

The Systematic Curriculum and Instructional Development (SCID) model provides a tested procedure for developing high-quality, low-cost competency-based education and tech prep curriculum and instructional materials. It consists of 5 phases--analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation--and 23 components. The analysis phase…

The Language Experience Approach (LEA) is a particularly effective means of increasing the motivation and reading skills of students enrolled in adult basic education classes. A form of personalized rather than individualized instruction, the LEA is designed with the personal needs of a specific student or group of students in mind. The LEA is a…