One of the most intriguing objectives when teaching computer science in mid-adolescence high school students is attracting and mainly maintaining their concentration within the limits of the class. A number of theories have been proposed and numerous methodologies have been applied, aiming to assist in the implementation of a personalized learning…

Over the last decade, web has changed the way that educational procedures are delivered to students and has brought innovative learning technologies and possibilities that were not available before. The Web has evolved to a worldwide platform for collaboration, sharing and innovation, constituting what is called Web 2.0. Social media are an…

Classification evaluation metrics are often used to evaluate adaptive tutoring systems-- programs that teach and adapt to humans. Unfortunately, it is not clear how intuitive these metrics are for practitioners with little machine learning background. Moreover, our experiments suggest that existing convention for evaluating tutoring systems may…

Learning is most effective when accompanied by doing. If someone desires to become a baseball player, being told how to play the game, watching others play and even understanding the rules of the game are mostly ineffective if the individual never "swings the bat". This paper outlines the implementation of this method (swinging the bat)…

State child welfare systems need to invest significant resources developing training programs that build knowledge and skill levels of the child welfare workforce. Often these training programs have produced only limited results, perhaps because the training is not linked directly to the knowledge and skills necessary to perform complex human…

Authors of skills management systems may have misinterpreted and misapplied Benjamin Bloom's theory of mastery learning in developing their systems for teaching reading. Skills management procedures are inconsistent with Bloom's theory in the areas of management, learning tasks, skills hierarchy, and instructional methods. In addition, the four…

This paper describes the current status of a helping skills program designed to train mental health paraprofessionals in relationship-building skills. Six skills were identified as the basis of the training program: (1) understanding the need to be a helper; (2) using effective nonverbal behavior; (3) using effective verbal behavior; (4) using…

This document presents the final report of the "As Families Grow Older" project, a continuing education program for aging network service providers and family members in 23 counties throughout New Mexico which was designed to promote family well-being. It describes how the project, which was in operation from April 1986 through January 1987,…

Competitive intercollegiate debate programs have long been premised on the unique educational opportunity the activity affords its participants. The central problem with National Debate Tournament (NDT) rounds is that policy advocacy too frequently occurs, reducing questions asked to one of whether advantages outweigh disadvantages. While issues…

Recently, the systematic skills approach has been applied to the training of foster parents. A systematic skills training program for foster mothers was evaluated to investigate the relationship between skills training and the outcome of the placement for the child. The sample consisted of inner-city, lower socio-economic minority foster mothers…

Politicians, parents, and teachers are decrying the "character" crisis in U.S. schools. Violence is on the rise, dropout rates are increasing, and test scores are falling. People are looking for ways of enhancing values in school reform. What is missing in this quest for reform is the acknowledgment of the fact that key agents of…

The process of implementing Goal Attainment Scaling at the Reno Veterans' Administration Center Mental Health Service, where it had never been employed and where most of the staff had never heard of the technique, is described. The difficulties of introducing a unique measurement instrument such as Goal Attainment Scaling into an existing system…

This paper presents an evaluation of a Goals 2000 project being carried out in a rural western school district. The participants have embarked on a series of training modules designed to develop their skills with a variety of software applications and the integration of technology within the curriculum. Participants--administrators and classroom…

A growing body of creative curricular materials, intended to guide and support the multicultural training of psychologists, has been developed. To enhance these materials, a preliminary evaluation of a multicultural program was conducted in an attempt to understand how students develop into culturally competent clinicians, particularly in terms of…

This paper evaluates a professional development training program in Western Australia that focused on the development of skills for self-evaluation and school development sessions in the context of local, school, and system accountability. The evaluation attempted to determine: (1) the relevance and value of the learning experience; (2) skill…