Much of modern biology has become increasingly chemical in character. Not surprisingly, students often have trouble understanding key ideas in biology because they lack foundational chemistry ideas. AAAS and BSCS are collaborating to develop and study a curriculum unit that supports students' ability to explain a variety of biological processes…

AAAS and BSCS are collaborating to develop and study a curriculum unit that supports students' ability to explain a variety of biological processes such as growth in chemical terms. The unit provides conceptual coherence between chemical processes in nonliving and living systems through the core idea of atom rearrangement and conservation during…

We determined short- and long-term correlates of a revised introductory biology curriculum on understanding of biology as a process of inquiry and learning of content. In the original curriculum students completed two traditional lecture-based introductory courses. In the revised curriculum students completed two new learner-centered,…

Creating single-subject (SS) graphs is challenging for many researchers and practitioners because it is a complex task with many steps. Although several authors have introduced guidelines for creating SS graphs, many users continue to experience frustration. The purpose of this article is to minimize these frustrations by providing a field-tested…

This article introduces a field-test model that was developed within a major curriculum-development effort in Turkey. Part of the National Educational Development Project, the model provides a systematic set of steps in piloting a newly developed curriculum in schools. Development involved three major phases--planning, implementation, and…

Describes a project designed to create instructional materials in entrepreneurship for secondary vocational students. Steps discussed include selection of small businesses to be treated in modules, determination of module content, guidelines for presentation of module content, and results of field test and expert review. (CT)

Reviews published works of a team of teachers at Blackpool and Fylde College involved in research on curriculum dissemination in further and higher education, including a survey about senders and receivers of curriculum information. Progress in a study concerned with field-testing a model for improvement of curriculum dissemination is discussed.…

Modules for training curriculum specialists to develop vocational education programs that respond to current needs and priorities were developed. They cover history and philosophy of vocational education as well as curriculum development, management, and evaluation. Field test results revealed that the modules increased knowledge of topics…

Discussion of how to teach novice teachers about practical theories and the reflective process of teaching focuses on a hypermedia software system called Chronicles of Teaching. The software features prespecified cases for analysis as well as the ability to enter and link new cases from teachers' classroom observations. (LRW)

A model program was developed for helping parents, students, teachers, and businesspersons deal effectively with the interrelatedness of work and family responsibilities. Various research procedures, including focus group discussions and mail and telephone surveys administered to adolescent students' parents, and businesspersons in the Lubbock and…

This manual provides a discussion of methods and responsibilities involved in the curriculum development process used by the Interstate Distributive Education Curriculum Consortium. Following an introductory chapter, the second chapter presents ten steps for conducting occupational task surveys: determine occupational scope, develop task…

A review of the research literature on systematic instructional design indicates that few empirically supported guidelines exist for testing materials under development and for improving materials on the basis of feedback from potential learners. In an analysis of 17 textbooks on instructional design, eight specific aspects to be considered in…

A project was conducted to develop and implement a curriculum for a series of group sessions designed to assist students in associate degree nursing programs in the socialization process of becoming a nurse. During the curriculum development phase of the project, specific plans and procedures were formulated for 10 monthly sessions that were…

Describes a project at Bell Laboratories which sought a compromise between ideal formative evaluation procedures and more feasible procedures necessitated by restrictions on time and resources. Local-trial and field-trial stages of a phased approach are discussed, as well as the benefits of field-tests. (EAO)

The Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy developed and field-tested a curriculum and instructional materials for teaching occupationally specific vocabulary in the health care field. The materials, which are in the form of a narrative about a woman who learns medical terminology from a friend, were designed to serve as a vehicle for training…