A project was undertaken to design an information dissemination newsletter to meet the professional development needs of Pennsylvania's adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) practitioners. It was decided that an 8- to 10-page-long newsletter would be produced for 5 months that included information/articles from as many sources as could be…

The major goal of a program was to improve the use of microcomputers in the management of New York State's adult basic education programs. Subgoals were optimizing the use of available microcomputer facilities, aiding the largest number of programs permitted by project funds, serving the particular needs of individual programs, and maximizing the…

A project was conducted to implement a competency-based semester course in marriage and the family that was geared toward high school students. Four experienced consumer and homemaking teachers developed a series of 33 competencies that were verified by 11 teachers and state staff members from across Virginia. Next, a curriculum guide was…

The goal of this project was to develop, validate, and utilize a process for vertically articulating curriculum between secondary and post secondary levels of vocational technical education throughout the state of Minnesota. Procedures involved the identification of two areas of staff responsibility: research and development, and service to local…

This report describes the development and effectiveness of a manual created for use in developing state plans for vocational education. The task of developing the manual involved six kinds of activities, including the selection and use of an advisory committee, utilization of a technical review panel, and assessment of the manual. Topics covered…

As part of a statewide, structured diffusion plan, inservice training sessions were held for teachers and administrators from many local schools to encourage use of V-TECS (Vocational-Technical Education Consortium of States) competency-based curriculum materials in local schools. Use of other recommended vocational education resources was also…

A project to propose a system for managing curriculum improvement at the state level (1) identified the basic functions necessary for a statewide curriculum management effort, (2) explained the supporting activities required to initiate and maintain its operation, and (3) developed a model system for curriculum management. The five functions…

The purpose of the Promising Practices Diffusion Project, 1979-80, was to further develop, implement, and improve a statewide system for disseminating Promising Practices in vocational and career education. (Promising Practices are those exemplary projects which have met established criteria of quality.) During the first stage, a project base was…

Instructional materials packets containing information presented in in-service workshops were developed for and provided to high school vocational agriculture departments. Cost savings were realized through delivering information to all departments in this manner rather than through in-service workshops. (LRA)

The Texas Agricultural Extension Service (TAEX) Literacy Initiative has three major components: literacy awareness, cooperation and coordination with other state agencies and organizations, and programmatic responses. During 1991, the TAEX Literacy Initiative addressed the literacy awareness component through these activities: writing a research…

A project was conducted to provide staff development workshops about adults with learning problems to agencies throughout Pennsylvania. Workshops and accompanying guides on nine topics ranging from understanding learning differences, problems, and disabilities to alternative instructional techniques were developed. Workshops were conducted…

A project was undertaken to evaluate and revise Florida's existing instructional materials for use in courses in heavy duty truck and bus mechanics. The tasks addressed in the currently available student guides were compared to the state program standards. After identifying tasks that were implied in the state standards but not covered in the…

As part of a project to develop a planning guide to assist local vocational education administrators in improving their planning efforts, a needs assessment questionnaire was developed to identify the degree of need for assistance in planning activities. Two hundred sixty-four Missouri local vocational administrators completed the pilot-tested…

A project was conducted to increase student retention in adult basic education (ABE) programs in Arizona through the publication and distribution of a statewide newspaper for ABE students. Using an Apple Macintosh micro-computer, editorial staff of the newspaper, entitled the Express Press, collected articles written by ABE students and…

In 1985-1986, the Leadership Development Project for Displaced Homemaker Education at the University of South Florida initiated a project to develop materials focusing on the staff development needs of coordinators of programs for displaced homemakers. The Developing a Curriculum (DACUM) workshop approach was used to formulate a tentative list of…