A model for assessing student writing achievement uses sets of criteria to chart students' writing progress that are based on a study of exemplary samples of student writing produced at various stages of development. The model provides a viable alternative to assessment methods that call for students to produce lengthy essays on preselected topics…

The author provides 20 abstracts of programs capable of being implemented in a community. These programs, based in Black Hawk County, Iowa, were developed by helping professionals in an institute at The University of Northern Iowa in dialogue with older adults. The objectives of this institute were: (1) to improve communication between dissimilar…

This paper indicates underlying philosophic assumptions which are compatible with the behavior analysis approach to child development. Four issues taken into consideration are (a) biology and environment, (b) structure and function, (c) traits and situations, and (d) mechanistic and organismic approaches to development. The following ideas…

Two surveys were developed in an effort to evolve a model process for setting up a displaced homemaker center, for determining how displaced homemakers are presently being served within a VTAE (Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education) district, and for identifying and then assessing the needs of a sample of displaced homemakers. The surveys…

While much of the development of consultation programs in mental health centers has been independent of the traditional treatment program, this document describes a consultation program which is closely integrated with an agency's treatment program. The emphasis is on system change and the development of prevention programming. The system-crisis…

In this paper, a model for the instructional design development process is presented, providing the instructor of adults with a set of specific questions in five process steps to be answered in sequence prior to entering the classroom. Each of the five steps, in outline form, includes brief explanatory paragraphs and, in some instances, reference…

An instructional program based on a learning hierarchy and involving the addition of fractions was presented to fourth grade students in a pretest - posttest design. The results of the tests were analyzed using both Walbesser's and White's techniques for validation. There was sufficient disagreement in the results to prevent a conclusion of…

About 25 children in each of grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 were tested in their ability to solve linear syllogisms, such as: John is taller than Mary. Mary is taller than Pete. Who is tallest--John, Mary, or Pete? Response latencies and error rates decreased across grade levels and sessions. Component latencies also generally decreased with increasing…

An overview of individualized education program (IEP) requirements and procedures and a process model for formulating and implementing IEPs are presented in this handbook which was designed for use by vocational education teachers, administrators, and counselors. The first section briefly discusses IEPs as a central focus of Public Law 94-142, the…

This guide deals with various areas of alternative education programs, including current practices and different options available to school and community personnel. Steps are outlined to assess present educational settings, design new programs, select the participants, and implement and evaluate the new program. The first appendix contains…

This paper describes a model for the systematic design, development, and validation of alternative instructional modules, by incorporating the basic concepts underlying Aptitude Treatment Interaction (ATI) analyses. The proposed working model is based on the premise that the ATI concept is best applied, not in isolation, but as an integral part of…

Intended to assist practitioners in vocational education in improving program planning and evaluation, this paper provides an overview of needs assessment, which is a method of acquiring evaluative data required by the Vocational Education Amendments of 1978 (P.L. 94-482). The first two sections discuss various definitions of educational needs…

This program model focuses on adult residential inmate aftercare programs. Critical issues in halfway house operations, a model for evaluation, and innovative variations are discussed. The facilities discussed include public and private halfway houses that provide residential services to adult offenders as a transitional step between their release…

This Stufflebeam-Guba CIPP type model for the evaluation of innovations in education attempts to maximize the effectiveness of critical decisions through the timely reporting of relevant information in a useful form to appropirate levels of decision making. Evaluation is thus seen as the combination of effective decisions based on timely, relevant…

Developed was a set of behavioral objectives which indicate (1) the processes of inquiry used by physical scientists, (2) the components which make up the structure of the physical sciences, and (3) the relationship among these various processes and components. A content analysis of a random sample of 50 books written by scientists and…