A report on the Massachusetts Early Education Project is presented. The two general goals of this project are: (1) to investigate and describe the general status of early education and child care in Massachusetts, and (2) to develop a public perspective for the care and education of young children. This document is divided into nine chapters.…

To adopt open education is a philosophical decision. Open plan schools should be more conducive to a more informal style of teaching. However, it is wise to know what open education means because it is not a panacea for all schools nor for all individuals. A related document is EA 004 184. (Author)

A course designed to sensitize the student to both verbal and non-verbal clues to the levels of meaning from written and non-written communication is presented. Course objectives include the following: (1) Students recognize examples of emotionally toned language; (2) Students determine attitudes from demonstrations of various body gestures,…

The concept of functional literacy is defined as literacy integrated with the occupation of the learner and directly related to development. Its ultimate goal is to assist in achieving specific socio-economic objectives by making adults receptive to change and innovations and by helping them to acquire new vocational skills, knowledge and…

This volume represents the output of a yearlong effort to clarify and firm the conceptual base that underlies educational RDD&E. It contains three commissioned papers authored by Drs. Hendrik D. Gideonse, Gene V Glass and Blaine R. Worthen, and by Leslie J. Briggs and one paper prepared by H. Del Schalock and G. Roger Sell of the staff of the…

Whereas female elementary principals represent only about 31 percent of the elementary principals in the nation, female teachers represent 88 percent of all elementary school teachers. This document reviews the literature on male-female differences in the leadership and management roles of the elementary principalship. (Author/MLF)

Initiating an individualized approach to instruction must begin with an assessment of the needs and goals of the teachers. To provide this analysis, a diagnostic system was built, consisting of an inventory of teaching and learning needs and of procedures for implementing a learning plan based on this inventory. A one hundred and four item…

Traces the problems teachers solve as they learn to teach writing and reading from the same philosophical perspective. Finds that as the emphasis in their classrooms shifted more to the process, the teachers changed their roles. (FL)

Argues that cookbook chemistry laboratory experiments do little to teach scientific inquiry. Suggests providing students with laboratory experiences that follow the introduction of a concept and challenge students to investigate that concept through an experiment involving very few initial instructions. Lists some such challenges used in chemistry…

Promotes the use of machine-scored tests in basic engineering science classes. Discusses some principles and practices of machine-scored testing. Provides several example test items. Argues that such tests can be used to enhance basic understanding of concepts and problem solving skills. (TW)

Describes the novice-to-expert model of human learning and compares it to the recent advances in the areas of artificial intelligence and expert systems. Discusses some of the characteristics of experts, proposing connections between them with expert systems and theories of left-right brain functions. (TW)

Argues that the use of computer technologies in secondary schools should change the nature of mathematics education. Urges the rethinking of the uses of traditional paper-and-pencil computations. Suggests some computer applications for elementary algebra and for problem solving in arithmetic and calculus. (TW)

Reports on the progress of a project designed to establish both a research agenda for mathematics education and a conceptual framework for such an undertaking. Describes four conferences which have been organized to consider teaching problem solving, effective teaching, teaching and learning algebra, and middle school number concepts. (TW)

Discusses the use of artificial intelligence to improve occupational instruction in complex subjects with high performance goals, such as those required for high-technology jobs. Highlights include intelligent computer assisted instruction, examples in space technology training, intelligent simulation environments, and the need for adult training…

Decribes a study which compared computer assisted instruction (CAI) with a parallel paper-and-pencil module to assess the impact on students' achievement and attitudes in chemistry. Supports the contention that CAI works as well or better than more traditional methods and tends to promote positive attitudes. (RT)