The article presents selected findings from in-depth case studies of two non-formal learning activities organized by the Danish Folk High Schools and Day High Schools, respectively. The purpose of the empirical study was to investigate how longstanding, non-formal, adult education institutions have worked to foster the acquisition of civic…

This evaluation used a change transition model to explore the processes of development of a three-phase professional programme devised by two teams of researchers to support teachers' expertise in six domains of science teaching. The full programme operated over two years. Interviews with developers at the end of each phase (21 interviews) and…

Six of the 39 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Public Schools' Chapter 1 participating schools, as part of the school-based budgeting process, allocated a portion of their Chapter 1 resource allocation for on-site intensive staff development activities. Three schools--Alamosa, Chaparral, and Duranes--agreed to utilize the time of a Support for…

Points out the need for research concerning the effects of media and popular culture on behavior, the current approaches to media education, and the identification of media literacy skills. Lists concerns of teachers about copyrights, suitable resources, staff training, evaluation practices, and curriculum design when teaching media literacy. (KO)

Presents the case that evaluation is an essential element of successful distance education programs. Uses a synthesis of the program evaluation and distance education research literature to form a framework for conducting evaluations of online programs. Evaluators should assess student performance, determine program and cost effectiveness, monitor…

The 1974-75 school year marked the fifth year of operation for the Division of Instructional Development at Utah State University. The model for Instructional Development (ID) consists of four parts: (1) developing faculty awareness; (2) capitalizing on faculty initiative, primarily through small-scale funding under a program of minigrants; (3)…

An on-going evaluation is being made of Utah State University's instructional development endeavor; this paper has emerged from a question answer interview with the Director of the program by an external evaluator. The Director describes the Instructional Development Program which is designed to improve the teaching/learning process by developing…

A study determined how direct instruction is being used and why it is being used the way that it is. Data were collected through observations and interviews from teachers and principals in 12 elementary schools involved in a school improvement project based, in part, on direct instruction. Results show that, in general, the elements of direct…

The purpose of this paper is to report on the various formative evaluation activities that have been conducted for the Masters of Science in Agronomy Distance Education Program at Iowa State University and to provide useful recommendations for educators involved in World Wide Web-based course development. It was found that those faculty members…

A 3-year project analyzed the Arkansas postsecondary vocational-technical education system to determine how effectively delivery was meeting the objective of providing vocational training. Two postsecondary vocational-technical schools in Northeast Arkansas were selected as pilot schools to test the innovative strategies that evolved from the…

The Teacher Leadership Project (TLP), funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is a program developed to assist teachers in their efforts to integrate technology into the school curriculum. The program also encourages and facilitates teachers in assuming leadership roles to help schools and districts develop and implement technology plans,…

A study identified and verified the professional education competencies needed and presently held by beginning teachers of vocational agriculture in Tennessee. To obtain these data researchers designed a survey instrument that listed 99 competencies under the following areas: program planning, development, and evaluation; planning of instruction;…

In response to a need expressed by Kentucky teachers for curriculum guides as a very important priority that should be addressed to improve instruction and learning as part of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), the study reported here was undertaken. The study investigated the extent to which the state documents and guidelines had been…