A questionnaire completed by 453 preschool teachers and three focus groups examined how preschool teachers planned classroom activities and individualized instruction for children with disabilities. Results indicated that teachers spent between 1 and 5 hours per week planning, used some procedures that conflicted with recommended practices, and…

Examines the gap between instructional development (ID) theory and practice and proposes a conceptual framework to describe how expert ID practitioners work in the corporate world. The framework consists of cultural context, situation analysis and synthesis, client and other stakeholders, performance capacities, and competitive advantages. (PEN)

Discusses the issues involved with setting the tone for a library instruction session and emphasizes the importance of the first five minutes of the class. Topics include adequate planning; making contact with students; student attitudes and library anxiety; librarians' anxiety; and setting the tone for lifelong learning. (Author/LRW)

Two experiments examined the role of analogy in the development of a situation model of a target passage, specifically, whether an analogous source text could improve comprehension and inferencing about causal mechanisms in the target. Responses of analogy subjects were more likely to include given and inferred information that comprised the…

Differences between curriculum-based assessment and curriculum-based measurement (CBM) are outlined, and a rationale for CBM's standardized, long-term goal approach to measurement is presented. CBM can be used to develop instructional programs in four ways, including judging the appropriateness of goals and contrasting the efficacy of different…

A checklist is presented that provides an organizational framework for the development, review, and selection of instructional techniques and programs for persons having severe handicaps. The checklist covers instructional content, description of learner population, instructional methods, testing and recording, individualization, program…

Describes a training program developed for graduate students who serve as instructors of the introductory course in economics instruction at Syracuse University. Considers the problems involved in developing coherence and quality control in a multisection/multiteacher course. Reviews the instructional development process and evaluates the quality…

Assessed a preschool health education program. Preschoolers of four, five, and six years attended a 15-week health education program, and 19 of the children took pretests and posttests of health knowledge. Results indicated an increase in health knowledge. Six curriculum objectives were shown to have higher scores at the posttest than at the…

The founding policies of precision teaching are discussed: monitor frequency daily, use self-recording, use standard charts to display major changes, and accept that the child knows best how he or she learns. Contributions of teachers that have furthered the development of precision teaching are documented. (JDD)

Describes steps involved in preparing hierarchical charts for use in performance and instructional technologies. Thirteen examples are shown that deal with systematic instructional development, and guidelines for choosing the appropriate format are discussed, including content, audience, and resources. Evaluation procedures involving paired…

Contends that, when discrete choice models are taught, particularly the probit model, it is the method rather than the interpretation of the results that is emphasized. This article provides a graphical technique for interpretation of an estimated probit coefficient that will be useful in statistics and econometrics courses. (GG)

Presented are guidelines for designing and incorporating cooperative group learning strategies into teacher preparation courses. Guidelines include determining appropriate content, selecting a cooperative format, forming cooperative groups, teaching cooperative skills, providing feedback, and evaluating learning. The student satisfaction results…

The article describes a one-page form ("Collaborative Options--Outcome Planner") to provide a format for prereferral consultation by special or regular educators. Designed to help educators in the self-questioning and problem solving process, the form can be implemented in four steps. (DB)

Describes a prototype expert system that was developed to guide the instructional design phase of instructional system development. Declarative and procedural knowledge representation methods employed in the system are explained, a sample dialog between the system and a designer is presented, and future phases of the project are discussed. (nine…

A citizenship teacher trainer reflects on her experience in Toronto and recounts her professional development as she began to understand and address some of the broader issues (such as the role of English as a second language) surrounding citizenship education and how these issues could be incorporated into teacher training. (Author/CB)