This report analyzes and documents the ways that existing educational service systems have successfully modified their roles in order to improve school-to-adult-life transition services for students with disabilities. The report is based on findings from development of a model cooperative transition services system, which revealed that new roles…

Operation SMART (Science, Math and Relevant Technology) is a project of the Girls Clubs of America, a national organization serving mostly low-income girls in local club centers. Girls clubs provide out-of-school programming that pays special attention to the needs of girls and helps them take charge of their futures. Operation SMART's hands-on…

Operation SMART (Science, Math and Relevant Technology) is a project of the Girls Clubs of America, a national organization serving mostly low-income girls in local club centers. Girls clubs provide out-of-school programming that pays special attention to the needs of girls and helps them take charge of their futures. Operation SMART's hands-on…

The use of confirmatory factor analytic procedures to examine the dimensionality of writing skills as measured by a large-scale direct writing test was illustrated. Internal construct validity evidence about the nature of writing skills measured by the test was provided. Data used were scores assigned by about 100 trained professional raters on a…

The We Do--They Do Model provides an evaluation methodology that service providers can use on a small scale to obtain data for themselves and for the over-all system. The model allows for complete assessment of ongoing program implementation and outcome. Three questions are used to organize evaluation activities: (1) Did staff (We) do what we said…

Self-instructional booklets simulating computer-assisted instruction (CAI) were used to teach four basic concepts in science to first graders in three treatment groups which received different types of feedback--hints, correct answers, and right or wrong. A control group received neither instruction nor feedback. A multiple-choice test was…

The Intermountain Community Learning and Information Services (ICLIS) worked for 18 months to develop a model program to meet the educational and informational needs of rural adults by combining traditional methods and innovative technologies. The model consists of five concentric rings around a rural population circle with three additional…

Long-range planning is becoming increasingly important for educators in today's rapidly changing society. This bulletin accordingly presents a step-by-step model for school districts to use in developing and successfully implementing a long-range plan. Chapter 1 introduces long-range planning and suggests ways of getting district personnel…

The translation of research findings into practical use has been a persistent problem in education. This paper describes a model that seeks to avoid some of the implementation and dissemination practices of the past--practices that produced disappointing results. The purpose of the study was to develop and test a model that brings together…

A need exists for focusing on the development of social interaction skills across the college curriculum. Eight basic assumptions should be followed when attempting to develop students' skills: social interaction (1) is a major vehicle for learning; (2) assists students in developing a flexible range of effective behavior; (3) requires abilities…

Dismissals for ineffective teaching, as distinguished from insubordination, immorality, or improper treatment of students, are rare because standards of teaching against which to juxtapose an individual teacher's behavior have not been available. However, abstract performance standards for teachers are beginning to emerge from research on teaching…

The design of a needs assessment model to establish the existing status and requirements of general and special education in eight small rural South Dakota districts interested in forming an education cooperative involved: (1) synthesizing major areas of need into workable components; (2) designing a needs assessment instrument based upon these…

The role of questioning techniques in the classroom is discussed, with particular emphasis on the cyclical nature of teacher-student dialogues. Excerpts from transcripts of actual dialogues are also analyzed. According to the model, based on Piaget's theory of cognitive development, the questioning strategies are designed to enhance the student's…

The focus of this study is on the estimation procedures implemented in BILOG, a computer program. One purpose is to compare the item parameter estimates produced by various procedures available in BILOG. Four different models are used: the one, two, and three parameter model and a three parameter model with common guessing parameters. The results…

This paper addresses the information revealed in incorrect option selection on multiple choice items. Multilinear Formula Scoring (MFS), a theory providing methods for solving psychological measurement problems of long standing, is first used to estimate option characteristic curves for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Arithmetic…