As researchers, decision-makers, and practitioners focus on continuous improvement in education, local-level change is gaining importance. Yet, many local school improvement efforts fail to be fully implemented. Even those that are fully implemented often fail to sustain improvements because the schools are embedded in systems that face multiple…

What fundamental ideas from higher performing schools underlie a coherent approach to educational improvement? First, only a system-wide approach to improving teaching and learning can make it possible for students to receive good teaching, year after year, across different subjects. Given the difficulty of the task, isolated and uncoordinated…

The rehabilitation of visually impaired persons can be conceptualized by a human systems approach. This paper explaines seven levels of human systems, related factors, and 10 assumptions that lead to high standards for rehabilitation workers and organizations. The concepts are applied to work with clients and use in rehabilitation agencies.…

Discusses the adoption of a notation system that is generalizable to all instructional designers and will allow and encourage a common communication base. Ten instructional design models are discussed as systems approaches to instructional design. (JEG)

This guidebook is designed to help school leaders think systemically as they examine school improvement issues and make decisions about change. The guidance offered is based on what has been learned from systems theory, research on school improvement, and conversations with a broad array of school leaders. Because schools are complex systems of…

Recounts the history of a project which brought instructional systems development to the training schools of the U.S. armed forces. Included are the problems faced, the choices made, the focus chosen, the difficulties encountered, the product that resulted, and the outcomes of the project. (Author/CHC)

Designed to serve as an introduction to instructional development for the teacher or graduate student who has not read extensively in the field, this chapter presents an operational definition of the instructional development process; explores the human dimensions of the process; provides graphic models of instructional development; and makes…

Intended for people interested in replicating the ideas contained in this manual in their own communities, the handbook describes the Family Exchange Center (FEC), an approach designed to support families with developmentally disabled children. Services offered include social, recreational, educational, mutual aid, support, and respite activities.…

This resource guide for the use of job aids ("how-to-do-it" guidance) for activities identified in the first phase of the Instructional Systems Development Model (ISD) contains an introduction to the use of job aids, as well as descriptive authoring flowcharts for Blocks I.2 through I.5. The introduction includes definitions;…

Designed to supplement the descriptive authoring flowcharts presented in a companion volume, this manual includes specific guidance, examples, and other information referred to in the flowcharts for the implementation of the third phase of the Instructional Systems Development Model (ISD). The introductory section includes definitions;…

A rationale for developing national systems of postsecondary education in developing nations is outlined, and models for public policy, legislation, governance, and institutional administration are presented. (MSE)

This paper presents a summary of systems change research as it applies to planning comprehensive early childhood service systems. It explains the inter-agency model developed by the Collaborative Planning Project for Planning Comprehensive Early Childhood Systems at the University of Colorado. The model attempts to address system issues such as…

Presents a model for establishing a conservation program in a library. A preliminary discussion of conservation strategies and the committee approach is followed by a list of tasks; for each task the purpose and goals are briefly explained, and some bibliographic citations are provided, with works chosen for their currency and usefulness.…

This chapter considers methods of interface analysis, the stage in the instructional development process that involves the identification, interpretation, and prioritization of essential points of contact among systems and subsystem boundaries. The structure of interfaces, types of interfaces, interface characteristics, and a procedural model for…

An approach to help the line administrator conceptualize and direct institutional change is presented. Postsecondary institutions are described from a systems perspective and represented in a linear diagram to identify those areas that can become focal points for renewal activities. A three-dimensional typology provides a framework of alternative…