Examines some evidence presented for and against block scheduling and makes recommendations based on these observations. Existing empirical evidence is ambivalent regarding academic benefits, particularly for mathematics achievement. Alternative scheduling seems right for some curricular areas and wrong for others. Blocking some classes and not…

Colorado College is reconsidering its block scheduling, in which students take eight immersion courses consecutively within the academic year, rather than taking several courses concurrently. Advantages of block scheduling include more intensive instruction and increased student focus on subject matter. Some students and faculty are concerned that…

Effective school principles can help provide successful programs for American Indians. Principles include a clear school mission, assessment of comprehensive needs and monitoring of student progress, appropriate curriculum and instruction, opportunity to learn, time spent on task, high expectations, safe and supportive school environment, good…

A study compared outcomes of master's programs in public administration and other professional-education programs organized in cohort (intact student groups in lock-step course patterns) and noncohort formats. Students in cohort format had cognitive and affective learning gains equivalent or superior to traditional format students. Learning gains…

A study compared scores on identical tests in internal medicine for two groups of graduating University of Toronto (Canada) medical students: those in a traditional, lecture-based curriculum (TC) and those in a redesigned curriculum with less didactic instruction and more clinical experience (NC). All comparisons showed a significantly higher…

Profiles of 14 educational programs and products are presented which focus on competency- and goal-based education. Each report contains a description of the background, goals, and methods of the program or product, as well as the address of a contact person. The programs described are: (1) Project Write, designed to improve composition skills of…

The manual is designed to assist California educators and public in understanding the various aspects of an effective English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program for adults. It provides theory-based and practical guidelines for conceptualizing, planning, designing, managing, and evaluating such programs. Chapters address these topics: the adult ESL…

Research funded by the Flexible Learning Advisory Group during 2000-2002 on issues related to online learning and delivery in vocational education and training in Australia was consolidated. Key findings included the following: (1) most students who experienced online learning did so in a conventional class, using face-to-face and other strategies…