There is very little written regarding developing the skills of doing peer reviews. In this piece we use our own experience as postdoctoral fellows to offer our reflections on how to get the most out of doing peer reviews as a trainee researcher. We touch upon the variety and complexity of peer reviews, the debates concerning the nature and…

Focusing on the challenges of training counseling psychologists, Ridley and colleagues offer in this issue a review and critique of microskills training, the dominant training model in counseling psychology graduate programs. Recognizing the role of higher order cognitive and affective functions in expert practice, they propose a hierarchical…

Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) was an efficiency expert whose concerns were less about avoiding worker fatigue and more about increasing profit margins by any means necessary. Taylor was devoted to finding the One Best Way to carry out a task and then training workers to do that task unvaryingly; attempts by employees to improve their own…

Cognitive modeling works best when teaching overt, observable activities. The basic structure of a good cognitive program includes modeling, case study exercises, social reinforcement, and transfer of training. (JB)

Discusses the special needs of librarians as microcomputer users, and advocates the development of user groups of librarians to provide basic training and expertise in library applications of microcomputers. The Purdue University Libraries Users Group and its services to librarians are described as a model of such a group. (CLB)

This article identifies three types of training--cognitive, psychomotor, and affective--and states that a training which ignores one of these types of training may be deficient. The author cites an unfortunate parachuting program that neglected to include psychomotor skills. (JB)

Discusses the role of observation in participative learning activities and describes methods to increase observation skills. Purposes of observing are discussed in relation to strategies followed by facilitators; categories of observation are described; methods of recording are examined; and training exercises for observational skills development…

The wide range of practical thinking skills are teachable and learnable. By treating thinking as a teachable subject, trainers can help people develop and increase their brain power. (SK)

Proposes an instructional design model which bridges the gap between the cognitive psychology and instructional design field. The model predicts when learning of task components will occur and suggests which components of a task should receive training. The proposed decomposition model guides task analysis when designing instruction of…

In presenting a women's training model, the author identifies specific areas where women need to develop competency. The stages of developing these competencies are presented. The training philosophy and guidelines are also examined, as well as the benefits of training. (CT)

Discusses the importance of documenting training efforts. The article describes several measurements and indicators of skill levels and the need to identify the set of behaviors that reflect the desired attitudes. It also discusses setting up rewards for employees whose on-the-job behavior conforms to the behaviors that reflect quality…

Pretesting not only helps determine the benefits of a training program, it can actually help trainees learn more. (Author/SSH)

Twelve ideas to produce technical training faster, make it longer lasting, and more cost effective are examined. They include performance improvement analysis, cause analysis, observing actual performance, concentrating more on the stimuli, considering alternatives to training, stating terminal behaviors for training programs, and using feedback…

The author discusses support services related to generalizable skills instruction. She includes topics such as existing vocational training models for special needs learners and approaches for delivering support services. (CT)

Technically speaking, brain building is called cognitive skill development and has been in the psychology domain since the early 1960s. Historically, cognitive skill improvement was isolated within progressive coastal school districts and psychologists' private offices. Cognitive skill improvement was used successfully as a treatment in these…