Schools today face the challenge of preparing students to live, work, and prosper in a rapidly changing world. As a response to this global challenge, Norway has adopted a national curriculum focusing on the development of 21st-century skills. In this study, we investigate if and how the tasks in science and language arts textbooks in…

The "Riga Conclusions" of the European Ministries of Education of 22 June 2015 for the orientation of vocational education and training in Europe are promoting work-based learning as one of five "medium-term deliverables" for the next five years. But: How should and can work-based teaching and learning be designed? Our approach…

Common elements of definitions of competency-based vocational education (CBVE) are: (1) CBVE is an instructional process; (2) students must develop competencies; (3) competency includes skill, knowledge, and attitudes; and (4) the outcome is successful job performance. Advantages of CBVE include: (1) students' awareness of what is expected of them…

This paper examines the academic task model used in the Managing Academic Tasks study as a potentially useful approach to some enduring problems or themes of research in science education: (1) effects of questioning and presentation strategies; (2) testing; (3) the role of laboratory activities; and (4) curriculum implementation and evaluation.…

Curriculum developers must work hard to avoid the "what errors" of curriculum development. They must avoid failing to teach what should be taught and teaching what is no longer relevant and needed. Curriculum "what errors" are likely to occur when teachers design courses so as to teach what they know best, what they were…

This project was designed to collect information on the types of skills common to the appliance repair, refrigeration, and air conditioning service areas. A single task inventory was constructed from available course materials, revised by consultants, and administered to a random sample of 30 incumbent workers in each of the two service areas in…

This manual presents a Task Analysis Process (TAP) designed to provide its users with a method to systematically analyze occupations in terms of tasks and procedural techniques for organizing them and related knowledges into vocational education program curricula. The process is intended for use by secondary and postsecondary schools for designing…

The duty areas of agriculture/agribusiness task statements identified in an Ohio study can be an asset in the development of updated courses of study relevant to secondary-level students' needs. Teachers of vocational agriculture can use these common core tasks as a curriculum-discussion base with the local advisory committee. (Author/AJ)

This booklet describes Job Analysis for Continuous Improvement (JACI), a five-step process incorporating strategic planning, job task identification, needs assessment, solutions, and evaluation. The JACI was developed as a result of a collaboration between the Minnesota Technical College System and 3M's Corporate Plant Engineering Services…

This teaching guide for social service occupations is one of a series of five performance and employer-based secondary level guides for vocational education. Part 1 provides tools, resources, and a process to be used at the local level to develop a social service occupations training curriculum and supporting instructional activities. It includes…

This teaching guide for building maintenance is one of a series of five performance- and employer-based secondary level vocational education guides. Part 1 provides tools, resources, and a process to be used at the local level to develop a training curriculum and supporting instructional activities. It includes a comprehensive overview of the…

Over the past decade, vocational and technical education teachers were encouraged to use commercially produced task lists to develop their curriculum materials. Unfortunately, however, many commercially developed task lists distributed by private companies, state departments of education, universities, and many other agencies may, to some extent,…

This final report of a curriculum research project conducted to develop a competency based curriculum for the mining and related industries is presented in three parts. First, the activities that took place during the last two months of the project are summarized. Second, an overview of the accomplishments of the project during the entire funding…

Outlined in this two-part document is a model for the implementation of a business-industry oriented program designed to provide high school seniors with updated training in the skills and concepts necessary for developing competencies in entry-level and second-level accounting jobs that involve accounts receivable, accounts payable, and payroll…

This teaching guide for business machine repair occupations is one of a series of five performance- and employer-based secondary level vocational education guides. Part 1 provides tools, resources, and a process to be used at the local level to develop a training curriculum and supporting instructional activities. It includes a comprehensive…