As one means of serving their clients, Ginn and Co. made a commitment in the early 1980's to provide inservice workshops for teachers that more closely related to customer needs. The vehicle for assessing these needs and ultimately designing appropriate inservice activities is Stages of Concern about the Innovation (SoC), one of the diagnostic…

Project Follow Through involved a diverse and major set of implementation problems: (1) The initial program mandate for an action program clashed with the later switch to an experimental focus; (2) The selection of curriculum rather than structural changes as the major intervention led to greater uncertainty regarding the practices to be…

Both linking agents and training consultants can help school systems solve some difficult problems: how to learn about current research and successful programs, and how to adapt and implement promisisng programs. After a successful initial experience obtaining technical assistance from the Network of Innovative Schools, Inc., the Chelsea Public…

The primary focus of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) is the individual teacher and professor involved in explorinq, selecting, and implementing educational innovations. The conceptual basis of CBAM proposes developmental steps of growth in feelings and skills that are experienced by individuals as they adopt innovations. The CBAM also…

It is suggested in this paper that practical arguments can be used in teacher education and staff development programs to introduce teachers to research-based practices. Practical arguments consist of three types of premises--value, empirical, and situational--that conclude with an action, or an intention to act. Such arguments are a useful way to…

The field of social innovation policy can presently be seen as divided into two opposing camps: pro-fidelity and pro-adaptation. The former conceptualizes innovations as consisting of a number of relatively well specified components, and argue that rigorously developed, evaluated programs should be implemented with close correspondence to…

By 1969-70 it was clear to a number of development communities at both the state and federal level that education didn't need more programs, but more programs that work. Research and development products that address a wide variety of local needs were available. Over the past four or five years, more research and development funding has been used…

Levels of use of the innovation represent behaviors demonstrated by individuals as they grow in the process of innovation implementation. Eight levels of use have been defined, ranging from lack of knowledge about the innovation through highly sophisticated, impact-oriented use. Operational definitions include seven categories of adopter knowledge…

A key assumption of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) is that change is a process, rather than an event. The Procedures for Adopting Educational Innovations Project is working to identify and verify diagnostic dimensions of CBAM, and to develop tools to measure the developmental status of users and non-users; these concepts will help change…

The faculty training strategy designed by the South Dakota Medical Information Exchange (SDMIX) staff implements principles of innovation and concern theory to facilitate the adoption of teleconferencing as an instructional medium. The goal of the workshop described is to provide faculty with the skills and experiences necessary for developing…

This model is based on the belief that all those affected by a competency-based high school diploma program should help formulate it. School systems should begin by considering two fundamental questions: (1) What competencies should all graduates possess? (2) How can these competencies be tested? The first step is the establishment of an advisory…

The key to successful development and adoption of new educational programs and practices is careful orchestration of several variables: administrative support, faculty involvement, administration and faculty commitment, and staff development activities. A chronological process involving programatic and political aspects for planned change is…

Discussed are initiatives of the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) in the areas of Head Start, child care, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, support of historically black colleges and universities, foster care and adoption assistance, the Runaway and Homeless Youth Program, and current and future plans. The…

A patient education evaluation project and how it applies or might be useful to other hospital settings is discussed in this paper. The following topics are included: United Hospitals (St. Paul, Minnesota); situation and approach to patient education; description of the patient education evaluation project, including design, criteria, and elements…

In response to a mandate from the Ohio State Board of Education, Bowling Green State University (Ohio) revised its teacher education curriculum to include clinical/laboratory teaching experiences as well as field experiences. Clinical experiences are defined as learning activities which may, but do not necessarily, take place off the college…