Reviews the use of readiness assessment measures as a strategy for improving career services. Proposes a five-step process model for readiness assessment and identifies current readiness measures. Continues with a theory-based conceptualization of readiness and links readiness assessment to the selection of career interventions designed to meet…

Describes an evaluation model for expansion systems in information retrieval, i.e., systems expanding a user selection of documents to provide the user with a larger set of documents sharing the same or related characteristics. Highlights include a test protocol and evaluation measures for the efficiency of expansion systems. (Contains 29…

Examines the use of the Performance Analysis for Training (PAT) model to assess performance needs in an organization that implements integrated manufacturing processes. Results showed that the PAT model was a useful guide for assessing performance needs and that the process and product of the performance analysis was influenced by the…

Describes a two-year study to determine the relationship between initial evaluations of student placement essays and progress in a developmental writing course sequence at a midsize university. Finds a positive relationship and presents the methodology as a model for assessment, citing its adaptability, minimal costs, and improved program…

Presents the Semantic Distance Model (SDM) of Relevance Assessment, a cognitive model of the relationship between semantic distance and relevance assessment. Discusses premises of the model such as the subjective nature of information and the metaphor of semantic distance. Empirical results illustrate the effects of semantic distance and semantic…

Presents a summary of results from a study which developed a taxonomy for studying value-in-use of library and information services in corporations; 218 users from 10 corporations were interviewed after using a service from the special library. Provides suggestions for application of the taxonomy. (Author/AEF)

Describes the Participatory Intervention Model (PIM), a participatory approach for conceptualizing and implementing research-based interventions that aim to develop acceptable and sustainable change efforts. Discusses PIM's potential for bridging the gap between research and practice, addressing cultural diversity, fostering partnerships,…

Describes activities resulting from a 1997 Minnesota state mandate which called for the development of a statewide virtual university. Measures the results to date against two classification systems and several sets of readiness criteria for virtual universities. Offers recommendations for advancing virtual university partnerships. (Author/DB)

Describes some pedagogical challenges of teaching critical thinking. Proposes one way of partly meeting them: the application of critical thinking skills to beliefs responsible for emotions. Suggests ways of introducing the topic of emotions in critical thinking courses, describes a project assigned to students, and provides a model of the…

Suggests that educators can teach students to deliberately use strategies to read and understand text and to do so across a wide variety of texts and disciplines. Argues that promoting active, mindful reading and teaching students to use strategies is every teacher's responsibility. Presents a three-step model of strategy training that can…

Examines content-based instruction as a possible strategy for easing students' transition from beginning to advanced foreign language courses, as well as for developing students' interest in pursuing language study beyond required courses. Content-based instruction is reviewed, four common models are outlined and compared, and research findings on…

Demonstrates how the latent growth model can be applied to the evaluation of programs targeting HIV risk behavior among drug users. Multigroup piecewise latent growth models were fit to longitudinal data with three repeated response measures. Participants were 430 drug users and their sex partners. (SLD)

Developed an evaluation based on R. Stake's Countenance Model of Program Evaluation (1967) to evaluate the Senior Block Field Experience Program at Mississippi State University, a teacher education program. Results identify strengths and weaknesses in all components of the program. (SLD)

Defines "measurement" and "evaluation" and applies the definitions to the concepts of performance and performance improvement. Discusses challenges in using measurement in evaluation and performance improvement. Proposes a research agenda for measuring performance and its improvement. (AEF)

Discussion of adoption models for learning technologies focuses on how the use of models tends to channel and constrain thinking. Topics include the importance of practice over theory; needs assessment; committees or consultants; developing a framework; data collection, analysis, and interpretation; implementation; and evaluation and revision.…