Health and behavior change programs play a crucial role in improving health behaviors at individual and family levels. However, these programs face challenges with engagement and retention and typically show modest efficacy. Cognitive load theory is an established and highly used educational theory that proposes individuals have a finite capacity…

This paper proposes how the theoretical framework of ecological dynamics can provide an influential model of the learner and the learning process to pre-empt effective behaviour changes. Here we argue that ecological dynamics supports a well-established model of the learner ideally suited to the environmental education context because of its…

Several studies have shown that adolescents have reasonably high levels of knowledge about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) transmission and prevention, yet they still engage in risky sexual activities. In response to this dilemma, a theoretically and empirically grounded intervention which went beyond presenting facts and figures was…

Discusses how mentoring in health promotion differs from other key support roles, noting what the underlying rationale is behind mentoring, how a mentoring program should be designed, what the historical and theoretical roots of mentoring are, and what strategies mentors can use to be more effective. A research agenda for the mentoring approach is…

Explains how to design training programs in which the trainer and the work group collaborate on designing a program that produces agreed-upon behavioral changes in employee performance. The modified critical incident technique is a diagnostic tool which provides information concerning the cost effectiveness of education and training programs. (CT)

This paper discusses some generic humanistic principles and conditions of learning which should undergird a field based educational and staff development process designed to enable teachers in a variety of situations, circumstances, and schools to improve themselves personally and professionally. (Author/JD)

A study of a junior high school inclusion program that provided four students with disabilities with nondisabled student aids found the students with disabilities experienced growth in levels of independence, social networks, academic skills, and in behavior. Describes beneficial outcomes for the student aids and contributing successful program…

The mini reviews in this collection synthesize current information regarding three timely topics in outdoor education: utilizing adventure education as a treatment mode for juvenile delinquency; providing outdoor education for the handicapped; and developing outdoor education nature centers. In "Outdoor Adventure Education and Juvenile…

The Contingencies for Learning Academic and Social Skills (CLASS) program is described. CLASS is a comprehensive, self-contained behavior management package designed for remediation of the behavior problems of disruptive, acting-out students in Kindergarten through grade 3. (Author/MH)

Businesses with limited resources to invest can successfully carry out programs that promote healthful behavior in their employees. The design and implementation of such a program, which encourages exercise, healthful eating, weight management, nonsmoking, and stress management, is described. (PP)

The best HIV prevention programs--those that effect change on a multiplicity of levels by changing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors and that are sustained over time--are also those that place HIV-positive people at the center of program design, implementation, and evaluation.

A composite model of exemplary inservice education, derived from a selection of comprehensive sources and basic references in the field, is described. In examining best practice statements, differentiation was made between three domains of inservice. The procedural domain includes chiefly political questions of control, support, and delivery of…

This article describes a pilot program, initiated in 1999 by Smoky Hill High School in Colorado, to help gifted students overcome barriers to their success. The program addresses issues in all components or subsystems of a person's life: emotional/psychological, mental/intellectual, physical, spiritual, social, and family. Tips for parents are…

This document describes the Mentors, Peer Groups, and Incentives (MPI) demonstration project, a model for helping early adolescent underclass males to improve academic performance and reduce the probability of premature fatherhood. A first section discusses the working definition of the underclass as a group where dysfunctional behaviors are…

A description is given of an exemplary Teacher Center program that is based on established knowledge of the characteristics of adult learning processes and motivation. Four features distinguish this program: (1) The Center staff operates out of a small office and takes its services to the teachers in their own buildings; (2) Emphasis is placed on…