Professionals and communication partners report experiencing challenges with regard to developing the knowledge and skills needed to support individuals with complex communication needs who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). These challenges can be exacerbated in rural and remote areas where access to resources and training may…

Everyone who runs a youth program believes in their hearts that their program helps kids, but in their heads, they know they need convincing data to prove it. This guide--updated from 2011--is here to help them get the data they need. The guide addresses a common problem throughout the youth field: Out-of-school time (OST) programs can help youth…

There has been considerable interest in generic attributes in higher education for over a decade and yet while generic skills or attributes are an important aspect of policy, there is often a lack of consistency between beliefs about the importance of these skills and attributes and the degree to which exist in teaching practice. There has been an…

In 2007, the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) received funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) program to implement the Pittsburgh Urban Leadership System for Excellence (PULSE), a set of reforms designed to improve the quality of school leadership throughout the district. A major component of PULSE is the…

The purpose of this study was to determine the skill areas that are generalizable across secondary vocational training program areas in the 32 vocational centers in Illinois. The major research problem was to (1) develop, validate, and determine the reliability of an instrument and (2) identify which mathematics, communications, interpersonal…

This paper argues that if thinking skills are to be integrated into the curriculum two needs must be addressed: (1) the manner of teaching content must be revised so that thinking skills are used and reinforced during the learning process, and (2) courses whose primary focus is the improvement of thinking skills must be offered. A comparison is…

A project was conducted by Missouri LINC to create a computerized data bank of entry and exit-level competencies that could be applied to special education students in vocational education. The competencies that were developed through that project are contained in this guide. They are expected to be useful for vocational and special education…

The manual teaches SignFont, a written form of sign language. Following a brief introduction, the first of three major sections describes the SignFont alphabet, structured according to the parts of every sign that is written (handshape, action area, location, movement). The second section discusses in greater detail how the SignFont characters are…

The Kentucky Education Reform Act established learning standards that were higher than those of previous educational systems. The main gauge for assessing how well students measure up to these standards is a statewide system that evaluates what students know and can do. In 1991, the Kentucky State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education…

This document contains a guide to implementing the Ohio Work and Family Life ITAC (Integrated Technical and Academic Competencies), which connects to the Ohio Model Competency-Based Program documents in arts, foreign languages, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, as well as the Core ITAC document. The Work and Family Life ITAC…

This course content guide was developed in accordance with the Standards for Accreditation of Public Schools adopted by the Arkansas State Board of Education. The guide is offered as a framework upon which a curriculum can be built. Within each subject area, the content guide identifies skills at three instructional levels: basic, developmental,…

Outlines activities for each of eight science process skills (observing, using space/time relationships, classifying, using numbers, measuring, communicating, predicting, and inferring). Directions for the activities (all of which use sea shells) are included. (DH)

This paper questions teacher evaluation based solely on "research based competencies" or "generic teaching skills" divorced from subject content or specific context. Three topics are discussed: (1) the use of the word "skill" in educational discourse; (2) the implications of such usage; and (3) the plausibility of…

Common Core of Learning encompasses the standards expected of public secondary school graduates in Connecticut. These standards include employment, education, and life skills. A group of occupational home economics educators identified the Common Core components included in this curriculum. This guide provides an overview of selected student…

Discusses classroom use of appropriate software to help teachers create a manageable environment to focus on thinking skills; presents software selection criteria; and discusses the teacher's role in questioning, and as a facilitator when computer software is in use. Ways in which teachers can encourage transfer of learning are reviewed. (MBR)