This newsletter of best practices in implementing the High Schools That Work (HSTW), Making Middle Grades Work (MMGW) and Technology Centers That Work (TCTW) school improvement models is based on presentations at the 27th Annual HSTW Staff Development Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the summer of 2013. The newsletter is divided up into…

Describes a modular approach in which students are taught about complex systems and problem solving through computer simulation and immediate feedback. (SK)

A study was conducted to assist two-year postsecondary educational institutions in providing technical specialty courses for preparing nuclear technicians. As a result of project activities, curricula have been developed for five categories of nuclear technicians and operators: (1) radiation protection technician, (2) nuclear instrumentation and…

A project was conducted to develop a laboratory-based instructional system in physics for two-year technician programs that emphasizes both the analogies between basic physical principles and the applications of the principles in modern technology. The Unified Technical Concepts (UTC) system that was developed is (1) a reorganization of physics…

Describes the multimedia approach used in the electronics technology program at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, which is based on self-paced learning modules and corresponding laboratory activities. Also examines the student evaluation method which looks at students' task performance on cognitive and psychomotor levels. (CAM)

A modular system titled "Principles of Technology" for grades 11 and 12 is described. The program, which blends academic and vocational education to meet increased science and mathematics requirements, uses video presentations and hands-on laboratory exercises and can be used as part of a one-or two-year technical program or integrated…

Discusses four major research problems concerned with the application of learning strategies in the context of computer-based military technical training that have been addressed by an ongoing four-year effort. Nineteen references are listed. (LLS)

Alberta's Career and Technology Studies (CTS) curriculum is a new way to organize the previous practical arts curricula to allow flexibility and accessibility. The basis of CTS is its modular framework. The curriculum is organized around a framework of more than 21 career or technology strands. The strands are common areas of study, relating to…

A project designed a national curriculum model for Energy Conservation-and-Use Technicians (ECUTs) and developed and tested instructional materials for use in the courses. The two-year postsecondary ECUT curriculum was designed to provide an interdisciplinary technical base (electrical, mechanical, thermal, and fluidal principles) and technical…

Since 1992, the Quebec Council of Colleges has explored possible means of diversifying technical education programs in Quebec's colleges of general and professional education (CEGEP's). This report focuses on one promising option: the development of modularized degree programs for entry-level training. The first part of the report provides an…

A dental assisting instructor was provided with 250 hours of released time to develop standardized Learning Activity Packets (LAPs) for the Dental Assisting program at the Bellingham (Washington) Vocational Technical Institute. The instructor reviewed unit objectives, gathered input from local dental professionals, reviewed reference materials,…

This task analysis report for the Robotics/Automated Systems Technician (RAST) curriculum project first provides a RAST job description. It then discusses the task analysis, including the identification of tasks, the grouping of tasks according to major areas of specialty, and the comparison of the competencies to existing or new courses to…

Intended for use in competency-based and criterion-referenced vocational programs, this articulated, performance-based instruction objectives guide for Drafting I is designed for reference use in the articulation of drafting programs at the secondary and postsecondary levels. It consists of a description of the development of the guide, 14…

Pima Community College produced self-paced individualized mediated drafting instruction to meet the needs of students with different skills, abilities, motivation, and experience. Areas of instructional information for skills of an introductory nature were divided into 13 units of instruction. These units were divided into areas of…

The Oregon Electronics Worksite Training Program created a system for delivering vocational education and training to individuals employed within the electronics and manufacturing industry in the Portland metropolitan area. The approach selected by Portland Community College was to use interactive video instructional materials in a self-study,…