The purpose and direction of the quality improvement program of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) are described. The improvement program was designed to develop a systematic approach to identify, measure, and correct errors in the student aid delivery system. Information is provided on the general approach…

Articles dealing with instructional approaches, faculty development, and student needs are presented. The 1984-85 collection includes: "An Evolving Partnership: The Community College-Secondary School Connection," by Cornelius V. Robbins; "What If Willy Loman Worked for You," by Paul W. Brennan; "Day Care Centers: The Versatile Student Support…

This paper presents recently reported findings that associate teacher behavior with student achievement. These findings fall under 5 general categories: time usage, classroom management, teacher expectations, teacher effectiveness research, and specific teacher behaviors. Research on time usage has demonstrated that the same amount of learning…

This instructor's guide consists of materials for use in teaching a course in geometry designed for students enrolled in postsecondary vocational or technical education programs. Covered in the individual units of the guide are the following topics: basic terms, straight line combinations, angular conversion, circles, polygons, and geometric…

This instructor's guide consists of materials for use in helping students enrolled in postsecondary vocational or technical education programs to master pretechnical mathematics skills. Addressed in the 17 units of the guide are arranged under the following headings: Whole Numbers (whole number notation; addition, subtraction, multiplication, and…

This year-end report represents all of the materials produced in relation to the development and implementation of the Michigan Occupational Competency Assessment Center (MOCAC) during the 1978-79 project year. (The primary objective of MOCAC is to achieve the standardization of the methods, techniques, and criteria used to assess the occupational…

A one-year Post-Master's Fellowship in Oncology Nursing Education for nurse educators was developed through the collaboration of San Jose State University (California) and University of Alabama at Birmingham. The project was designed to: develop or update undergraduate/graduate oncology nursing programs; provide continuing education for practicing…

This operational level implementation guide is intended for the local or state curriculum designer of industrial arts/technology education curricula. A rationale and mission statement for industry and technology education appear first. The assumptions upon which program structures were developed are listed, and the three model program structures…

This curriculum guide consists of materials for use in teaching a course in job skills for hospital ward clerks. Included in the front matter of the guide are an introduction, guidelines for using the guide, and a course outline. The second section contains a job description, seven categories of job duties and tasks, a final examination, sample…

Postsecondary education's responses to economic change are discussed, based on 22 projects supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). After identifying common themes of the FIPSE "Education and Economy Alliance" projects, new directions for postsecondary education are considered, along with policy concerns.…

An input-output model for studying student outcomes is examined, along with the results of a longitudinal study using this approach. An Entering Student Survey was designed to measure characteristics of incoming students, including demographics, expectations, and aspirations. A Follow-up Survey measured outcomes that were relevant to the college's…

To meet the remedial-instructional needs of its recruits, the Coast Guard developed a basic skills program, entitled the Basic Educational Enrichment Program (BEEP), at its recruit training center in Cape May, New Jersey. Objectives of the program were to ensure that all graduates of Coast Guard recruit training possess at least eighth-grade…

Noting that having fun with language engenders a love of language and an understanding of its power and vitality, and that students with this awareness of and respect for language will likely be more successful writers, this guide offers suggestions that will help teachers ease the rigors of writing for their students and create a "language…

The study examines the rule space model, a probabilistic model capable of measuring cognitive skill acquisition and of diagnosing erroneous rules of operation in a procedural domain. The model involves two important components: (1) determination of a set of bug distributions (bug density functions representing clusters around the rules); and (2)…

A case study approach was used to evaluate the statewide reading improvement project in Louisiana called Special Plan Upgrading Reading (SPUR). SPUR emphasized a change agent approach by providing Technical Assistants and small stipends (approximately $5,000) to participating school districts. During the first two years of the evaluation,…