On a daily basis, administrators are reminded of the potential, perhaps the likelihood, of violence or natural crises on their campuses. Comprehensive studies have been conducted and point to recommendations and best practices for planning, preparing, responding to, and recovering from critical incidents. The International Association of Campus…

One of the strengths of narrative research in TESOL is its potential to provide insight into long-term language learning experiences that cannot be investigated in real time. Reliance on retrospection, however, brings two problems that are addressed in this article through the concept of "language learning careers". The first problem is…

Obtaining the intrinsic rational validity Ebel describes (TM 508 146) requires several steps that have been neglected in developing tests of ability. These include defining and describing the behaviors that demonstrate possession or lack of the ability, analyzing behaviors, translating the analyses into specifications for test items, and writing…

It is generally acknowledged that school discipline is failing. Through a comparison of two very different disciplinary situations, I inquire into possible causes of failure and conditions of success. The argument is made that if discipline is to succeed, students must believe in and identify with the goals it is designed to support. Questions are…

Critical incident analysis, combining actual experiences with structured reflection, can facilitate learning from clinical practice and develop interpersonal skills and self-awareness. (SK)

Describes four perspectives that shape critically reflective practice: (1) one's autobiography as a learner; (2) learners' eyes; (3) colleagues' experiences; and (4) theoretical literature. Presents a critical incidents questionnaire, a structured way to reflect on and examine core assumptions in practice. (SK)

In this paper, the author argues that the pre-service secondary teacher education "paradigm shift" or "system overhaul" that has been implemented during the 2003-2005 time period in Ethiopia reflects the pursuit of pathways which the author refers to as a managerial approach. Grounded mainly on personal narratives of a key…

Responds to 58 articles in special journal issue dealing with critical incidents, or direct experiences which have impacted the counselors who experienced them. See critical incidents as examples of Jung's concept of synchronicity, two simultaneous events that occur coincidentally and, although not causally related, result in a meaningful…

Explores implications of subjective factors that influence rating processes upon which formal performance appraisal systems are based and presents a strategy for addressing this problem which utilizes the critical incident method to focus objectively on employee behavior. A performance feedback worksheet to be utilized with this appraisal method…

Describes the use of the critical incidents method in an internship program to introduce into field learning a symbiotic relationship between language and experience (or theory and practice) so that each can build on the other. (Author/IRT)

Describes exercises that can uncover the assumptions underlying educational practice: (1) scenario analysis; (2) critical debate; (3) simulations of crisis decisions; (4) identifying heroes and villains; and (5) analysis of critical incidents. (SK)

Critical Incident Technique (CIT) involves the collection of real-world examples of behavior that characterize either very effective or very ineffective performance of some activity. The principal advantage of the CIT is that it generates data based on actual behavior rather than on a particular researcher's subjectivity. The CIT has much to offer…

Although there is no established or accepted definition of enterprise, enterprise competencies have broader applications than entrepreneurship. Assessment methods for identifying competencies include critical incidents technique, job function analysis, behaviorally anchored rating scales, and Morgan's action research approach. (SK)

Argues that research and development (R&D) methods should be utilized to develop new technologies for training and retailing and describes useful research tools--critical incident methodology, task analysis, performance recording. Discussion covers R&D applications to interactive systems development in the areas of product need, customer…

Stage-state analysis of the life course is presented as useful in identifying types of life courses and their relative frequency, in estimating the likelihood of moving from a given state through a sequence of future states, and in analyzing routes and processes connecting initial states with potential outcomes. (Author/DB)