Connecting with text-weary students can be a challenge in the online instructional environment. Librarians have often developed screencast videos and integrated screenshots into online learning objects to teach students basic research skills. An alternative technology, graphical interchange format (GIF), may prove to be an excellent blend of the…

As of the writing of this report, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are being implemented in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Approaches to implementing the standards, however, are highly varied. For the past 3 years, Research For Action (RFA) has been tracking how one approach to implementing the literacy standards--the Literacy…

Superintendents and principals can have a positive and decisive impact on student achievement and higher graduation rates. Their essential leadership can illuminate the path to excellence for faculty and students. In upgrading curriculum and instruction, school leaders need to keep abreast of practices proven effective in other districts and…

The Developmental Strategies for College Readiness and Success Resource Guide was produced by the Education Commission of the States and the Southern Regional Education Board for the "Countdown to 2015: Developmental Strategies to Advance Readiness in the Common Core Era" convening held April 21-23, 2014 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The…

This newsletter of best practices in implementing the High Schools That Work (HSTW), Making Middle Grades Work (MMGW) and Technology Centers That Work (TCTW) school improvement models is based on presentations at the 27th Annual HSTW Staff Development Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the summer of 2013. The newsletter is divided up into…

A study examined the level of acceptance of 43 junior high/high school teachers of modular instruction techniques in technology education programs in Kentucky. Data revealed that teachers have mixed reactions to modular instruction. (JOW)

The purpose of this study was to assess ways by which creativity may be enhanced in a design-oriented course. In order to demonstrate the validity of the approach, a statistically based study was employed. Additionally, the experiment was replicated in two design-oriented fields at the University of Kentucky. These fields were civil engineering…

Describes the Kentucky model Competency Based Vocational Education program for the occupational area of tractor mechanics, and its implementation. (HD)

Specific objectives of a project to translate V-TECS (Vocational-Technical Consortium of States) catalogs of performance objectives into viable programs of instruction ready for implementation in the secondary and postsecondary training institutions of the State of Kentucky were the following: (1) To teach selected personnel to develop…

This trainee handbook is designed for a course to prepare workers with safety competencies in order to meet Kentucky mandatory mine safety requirements before entering mines in Kentucky; it is also intended for workers who have been on the job less than 90 days. The guide is organized into 14 chapters. Topics covered in the mine safety training…

The project reported here was done in Kentucky to develop, field test, evaluate, and revise 300 competency-based vocational education (CBVE) instructional modules in five occupational areas. These areas are automobile mechanics, air-conditioning and refrigeration, court and conference reporter, alterationist, and gardening and groundskeeping. This…

A project was conducted to develop and field test comptency-based modules of a Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Student Manual, to write a descriptive report about the process of developing the manual, and to evaluate both these products and the infusion process through descriptive research. Following development, 11 modules were…

Intended for use by educators and the public, this report interprets the findings of two research studies on competency-based vocational education (CBVE) in Kentucky secondary schools: "The Development of an Instrument to Measure Student Attitudes toward Competency-Based Individualized Instructional Modules," by John C. Thomas, and…

This instructor's manual consists of materials for use in presenting a course in the occupational area of pharmacy aide. Included in the first part of the guide are a program master sequence; a master listing of instructional materials, equipment, and supplies; an overview of the competency-based vocational education (CBVE) system; and guidelines…

This manual is intended to aid the instructor in using the competency-based electronics technician curriculum developed for use in electronics courses in Kentucky. The first section of the manual provides a master sequence of program components, with tasks matched to textbook units and laboratory manual sections. The second and third sections of…