Informal research and development (R & D) is defined as any small-scale, decentralized agricultural or extension education program that involves the population of learners in the process of planning, implementation, and evaluation of a learning process. It involves simple experimentation with potential solutions to common problems. The presence of…

This paper discusses the instruction of adult performance outcomes and life skills in classes for students with mental disabilities. Basic considerations in teaching life skills include teaching for lifelong learning, teaching for relevancy, and teaching beyond textbooks and classrooms. Several strategies have contributed to the success of…

A conceptual framework of social competence is presented to formulate actions that will enhance the social competence of learners with mental disabilities. This chapter discusses the individual's culturally determined inputs; the processes of social affects, social skills, and social thinking; and the desired social outcomes. The history of social…

This paper provides a description of the development of an honors program at Gulf Coast Community College (GCCC). The description is organized around three flow charts corresponding to different stages in the program's development, and which are followed by more detailed explanations. The first flow chart deals with program planning and…

This paper outlines seven assumptions about teaching conditions that best facilitate critical thinking in the undergraduate psychology curriculum; the main ideas proposed in a model of critical thinking developed by a network of psychologists across the nation; and the application of this critical thinking model to the undergraduate curriculum.…

Multicultural education, as defined by the author, is an organizational approach to integrating existing curriculum such as social studies and English with materials, ideas, strategies, and techniques which reflect the contributions, history, customs, and aspirations of ethnic groups. A multicultural approach to teaching can help students learn to…

This guide contains processes for planning, developing, and implementing an industry-based construction cluster program in Oregon secondary schools. Each process was pilot tested and revised by Beaverton School District during the development of a model program at Beaverton High School. The guide is intended to help other school districts…

The validity of the University of Minnesota Skills Training Cost-Benefit Forecasting Model (STCBFM) in a corporate setting was studied. Research and related literature suggested that a model for forecasting the economic benefits of training should include facility to identify and summarize costs and provide an assessment of the value of the…

The validity of the Training Benefit Forecasting Method (TBFM) in a recreational vehicle service training setting was studied. Cost-benefit issues were associated with the Onan Service School change from a field-based Recreational Vehicle Generator Set training program to a customer-delivered self-instructional training program. Actual costs and…

This booklet describes a research program that developed eight Educational Leadership Appraisal (ELA) exercises specifically relevant to the roles of middle-management personnel in state education agencies (SEAs). ELA is a performance-based procedure for the observation, assessment, and training of leadership behavior in educational managers and…

Social cognition refers to that ability which makes it possible for one to infer another's covert, inner psychological experiences and to interact with that individual accordingly (Shantz 1975; Flavell 1977). Piaget (1926) maintains that the ability to decenter socially and to take into account the perspective of another develops gradually as the…

The papers in this collection were originally developed for use in Further Education Staff College (England) conferences for senior staff in further education establishments. (Further education is similar to American adult education.) The process of curriculum development in further education is viewed as operating at levels associated with the…

According to developmental psychology, human development occurs in an identifiable sequence of stages. Appropriate experiences at each stage make development smoother and more rapid. Leadership can be roughly defined as the ability to structure events in a way that will take best advantage of developmental patterns. Members of organizations are…

This report summarizes the approach taken to construct a normative model of environmental education. Three sections are included in the report. The first section describes the background of the model including the project context and the purpose of the model. The second section describes the method of constructing the model. The third section…

This presentation describes a course, "Lifework Planning," designed to help women evaluate their current job status and plan career changes commensurate with long-range life goals. The framework for the program is self-directed learning, through which women develop coping strategies for change. Participants and leaders make mutual decisions…