In early November 2013, the authors started talking about visiting the Hurley School, a dual-language school in Boston, Massachusetts. The Hurley School had spent considerable time transitioning to the Common Core State Standards on literacy, but little time addressing the shifts in math. They worried that math classes were no longer rigorous…

This study examined the perceptions of teachers and administrators with regard to AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination) teacher leaders. The purpose was to compare whether teachers and administrators agree on the types of attributes needed for teacher leaders involved in implementing AVID as a school reform effort. Results revealed that…

Most executives have not heard of human performance technology (HPT), but a recent Google search showed 25 times more Google hits for "lean six sigma" than for "human performance technology." This article describes five factors that make HPT a hard sell: (1) HPT is not part of standard business jargon, (2) organizational executives associate…

Process Improvement (PI) is an approach for helping organizations to identify and resolve inefficient and ineffective processes through problem solving and pilot testing change. Use of PI in improving client access, retention and outcomes in addiction treatment is on the rise through the teaching of the Network for the Improvement of Addiction…

Describing a task force as a planning and problem-solving group within the school, this article outlines problems encountered in school-based planning efforts and ways to make future attempts more successful. (Author/JM)

This monograph presents a theory of helping practice for groups that aim to facilitate a sustained capacity for problem solving in urban public schools. The theory is based on information gathered by the Documentation and Technical Assistance project (DTA) of the Center for New Schools (Chicago, Illinois), in the process of observing experiences…

Presents a decision model for selecting interactive media formats to solve human performance problems in organizations. Training problems and motivational problems are discussed, change strategies and assessment of values and aptitudes are described, and case studies that apply the decision model are included. (LRW)

One potential factor contributing to increased productivity in higher education is the implementation of instructional innovations. A model of the innovation process was tested. Results suggest that formal organizational mechanisms for facilitating the discovery and implementation of innovations are as important to the process as faculty…

This document includes presentation summaries and policy recommendations from the 2004 Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) Education Conference: (1) The Present and Coming Crisis: Demography and Education (Dowell Myers and Estela Mara Bensimon); (2) A View from the Academic Community (Moderators: Jorge Haynes and Jamilah Moore; Presenters:…

A collaborative approach to solving school problems in Maryland emphasizes planned change through organization development processes. Organization development, a process of planned improvement in overall functioning, strives for sustained capacity in problem-solving by communication, goal-setting, conflict resolution, and commitment. The…

Improvements in advising programs are seen as elements of institutional development and are central to the mission of the institution rather than peripheral service entities that happen to take place on campus. (MLW)

Describes a districtwide effort to select and implement a computerized system that could compile and maintain student census data, in addition to redesigning the district's school bus routes to better accommodate a growing student population without increasing the number of buses in service. (JG)

The fourth publication in the Model Schools series, this guide for administrators suggests changes and procedures that come mainly from the authors' experience in the Model Schools Project, a five-year program sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The project's purpose was to demonstrate in a group of schools that…

A consultant is often an effective source of assistance for an agency undergoing change. Community mental health centers (N=80) randomly assigned to treatment and control groups were studied to determine the impact of problem-oriented consultation on problem solution, and the characteristics of both consultant and consultee which are critical in…

Documenting the impact of 1978-79 Community Resource Development (CRD) projects, this national study presents data in response to a congressional mandate calling for assessment of the consequences and effectiveness of Community Resource Development projects. The report presents findings derived from questionnaires sent to 47 state CRD leaders, 120…