Shares some of the day-to-day management techniques that help maintain a positive supportive atmosphere with the instructor/client and the administration during long-term instructional development projects. The degree to which this can be done is very often the determining factor in the success of a project. (VT)

Guidelines are provided for developing illustrations for use in distance education materials for rural adults in different cultural situations. (STS)

Argues that too much emphasis is currently being placed on vertical analyses of course content, aggravated by the fragmentation of content into numerous objectives stated as learning outcomes. The approach proposed is to focus upon the relationships between major coordinate course elements, and the use of task-based objectives to enable students…

The CTEA process described provides a systematic, step-by-step process for comparing proposed training and education system alternatives. (Author)

The results of this study indicate that order of practice does have a significant effect on skill acquisition with sequential ordering (practice of a successive nature) being the most efficient method for improving bilateral skill acquisition. (MB)

Decision model for instructional and curriculum design. (DAG)

In two experiments, college undergraduates completed a 20-frame instructional program and did or did not receive feedback following each frame response. Feedback groups outperformed the controls on the 20-item criterion test, but subjects who received repeated feedback showed the greatest probability of correcting an instructional error.…

Identifies different types of statements that make up the structure of a lecture, including concepts, definitions, formulas, theories, models, and predictive statements. The selection of statements and their relationship to pedagogical processes is described, and the importance of knowledge of the abilities of the intended audience is discussed.…

The fifth in a series of surveys of computer courses for humanists, this article provides information about past and present courses for those designing such a program. Presents statistics on the numbers of courses offered by departments, the texts used, the types of equipment available, and the programming languages taught. (GEA)

Relates research on instructional sequencing and type of knowledge to be learned to a model of direct instruction. Maintains that the studies reviewed provide powerful support for the direct instruction approach to many kinds of learning. States that the model provides a partial understanding of the complexities of instruction. (JDH)

When a student asks a question, he invites learning and teaching. This article analyzes student questions and then uses that analysis to propose a pedagogical plan for responding to questions. (MT)

An eight-step decision-making paradigm appropriate for guiding decisions regarding selection of instructional programming alternatives for visually impaired multiply disabled children is presented. Brief case studies illustrate the application of the paradigm. (Author/DB)

Addresses position of printed documentation in computing as it exists for use by university community. Highlights include criticisms of computer manuals, the discerning reader, form and content, trends in system design, features of good manuals, and three principles to follow when considering use or purchase of computer system. (11 references)…

Discusses effects of student and teacher cognitive styles on teacher/learner relationships and on training transactions, suggesting that teachers and students with like cognitive styles interact more successfully and that field-dependent learners, who tend to favor working alone, perform better with self-paced instruction. Instructional design…

Considers three powerful techniques--heuristics, context trees, and search via backward chaining--that a knowledge engineer might employ to develop an expert system to automate performance engineering, i.e., the branch of instructional technology that focuses on the problems of business and industry. (MBR)