Examines certain common professional characteristics that unite instructional developers across a variety of settings, and addresses the question as to whether a strong case can be made for providing developers with a common approach to their training. (Author/MER)

Describes an adaptation of the Component Display Theory to a corporate training setting where the principal developmental effort was done by content experts. An overview of the Component Display Theory is included with a case study illustrating the application process. Examples of the resultant training products are included. (MBR)

Discusses five job behavior functions viewed as necessary for practicing performance-based thinking in instructional development activities. Functions examined include the abilities to plan to perform a job, execute a task, monitor or control execution, troubleshoot, and evaluate. (MER)

Provides worksheet that can be used to calculate the costs of a complete training intervention, a needs assessment, an evaluation of a specific program, media production, or job aids. Developed in response to the General Motors Great Job Aid Contest, this aid includes a glossary of terms. (LRW)

Describes instructional development process applied to the design, production, implementation, and evaluation of a computer simulation designed to provide troubleshooting practice for individuals who maintain and install large digital telephone switches. The major organizational benefits resulting from use of the simulation are discussed. (MBR)

Reviews a workshop conducted at the 1987 National Society for Performance and Instruction (NSPI) Conference on estimating workload and costs for training development. Information derived from two case studies is used to compare workload estimates done by experienced managers with those done by professionals with formal instructional design…

Discusses difficulty of translating ambiguous affective statements into effective instructional materials and limitations of Mager's process of goal analysis. A comprehensive procedure is then proposed which takes an affective statement from an undefined state, to subcategories of performance, to a hierarchy of performance objectives. A two-year…

Comparison of costs and effectiveness of using student data for formative evaluation of instructional materials and of using instructional editing guidelines incorporating attributes of effective instruction indicate greater cost-effectiveness if guidelines are used, with no significant difference in instructional effectiveness. Subjects were 70…