Because of a documented need for more and better trained vocational education teachers, including those from industry, an alternative approach to teacher preparation, called performance-based teacher education (PBTE), was developed. PBTE is an approach to instructor preparation in which (1) the training program is based on the competencies…

Because of an expressed need for staff development for vocational education administrators, research was conducted to identify and verify the competencies needed by vocational administrators; competency-based modularized materials were developed to address those competencies; and a variety of competency-based training program strategies were…

A project was undertaken to identify, develop, and test the effectiveness of a limited number of self-contained, individual learning modules about consumer topics that are especially appropriate to a variety of industrial arts courses given in secondary schools in Texas. Included among the project activities were the following: (1) identification…

This book details a step-by-step procedure for setting up effective on-the-job training (OJT) programs in actual work settings. The book contains 11 chapters grouped into 3 parts. Part 1, which is devoted to meeting the demand for employee expertise, consists of a chapter explaining how the need for effective and efficient development of employee…

Written mainly for the training practitioner who has some experience in the field, this book provides a practical approach for constructing good self-directed learning (SDL) programs. Chapter 1 considers SDL from the academic and business points of view, develops a working definition, and examines SDL's strengths and weaknesses. Part 1 covers…

A project was undertaken to develop, field test, and revise strategies for adult beginning readers (ABRs). During the first phase of the study, the researchers identified roadblocks to use of word recognition clues by ABRs. Based on data and feedback from local and state piloting and general principles of learning, the project staff developed the…

Research for Better Schools (RBS) has operated INROADS, a career development program for minority youth, for 13 years and the High School Academies, a work-study program aimed at potential high school dropouts, for 14 years. RBS found that a new approach to educational research and development was needed when working in partnership with the…

A project was conducted to develop a curriculum for training interpreters to use American Sign Language (ASL) to serve the deaf. The three-phase project involved (1) a task analysis to catalog the skills needed by interpreters and location of existing materials to determine areas where material needed to be developed; (2) development of a model…

This document is a working paper from Cyberstep, a 3-year project during which five literacy service innovators are collaborating to identify practices for educating English-as-a-second-language learners and adults functioning at low literacy levels, extend the use of technology to facilitate learning, and provide practical tools for educators.…

This learning module, one of a series of 127 performance-based teacher education learning packages focusing on specific professional competencies of vocational teachers, deals with the task of assisting students in achieving basic reading skills. Addressed in the individual learning experiences included in the module are the following topics: the…

This document contains materials about and from the Planning for Change (PfC) project, which was conducted to accomplish the following objectives: (1) further develop and document a comprehensive community planning process across Pennsylvania's workforce investment board (WIB) regions; (2) pilot the comprehensive planning project; and (3) expand…

This learning module, one of a series of 127 performance-based teacher education learning packages focusing on specific professional competencies of vocational teachers, deals with the task of assisting students in developing technical reading skills. Addressed in the individual learning experiences included in the module are the following topics:…

These proceedings contain the texts of 20 reports presented at a conference organized to review and assess the status of the following types of performance/competency-based approaches to the professional development of vocational teachers and administrators: performance-based teacher education (PBTE), competency-based teacher education (CBTE),…

This book presents detailed guidelines for conducting structured on-the-job training (S-OJT), which is training based on the premise that OJT can be structured and planned so as to produce more predictable and reliable training outcomes. Together, the book's 15 chapters systematically examine the topics of meeting the demand for employee…

The six state-based research centers of the Adult Literacy and Numeracy Australian Research Consortium (ALNARC) investigated the effects of inclusion of literacy and numeracy standards in Australia's national training packages and the standards' impact on the quality of learning and work outcomes. The six ALNARC projects, which used a case study…