Simulations, which can be defined as formalized techniques for studying complex systems by manipulating the variables in a scaled-down model and observing the results, are useful instructional tools. They provide individualized, self-paced, learner-controlled education, offer discovery experiences which are realistic, and promote problem-solving,…

In this paper, the SIGGS Theory is set forth and shown to be a model for educational research. The paper treats of the SIGGS Theory, educational research, and of the SIGGS Theory as a model for educational research. The SIGGS Theory provides characterizations of a general system beyond those developed prior to SIGGS' introduction.…

In this report, the definitions of systems and systems analysis are examined. The role of the systems analyst is discussed, and the steps that he and the designer take in developing a system for an organization are described. Some of the steps that the organization can take to aid in the analysis are also explored. The report looks at the…

The "blue collar blues" and the "white collar woes" are plaguing business and industry, and the alienation of the American work force is manifest. Organizations are rapidly realizing that they must change or die. Recent work in organizational development has established a causal relationship between managerial communication effectiveness and…

The developmental procedures used in constructing a competency-based, student teacher/in-service program are described in this report. These procedures evolved from redesigning the St. John Fisher College Teacher Education Program to include behavioral objectives. The five steps employed to provide these objectives were: a) stating a goal; b)…

The document is a guide to be used by members of a community who have volunteered to speak about their occupation to a class in grades three through eight. The handbook suggests topics and approaches suitable to each grade level and includes a description of the characteristics of students at each grade level. It is part of a program based on a…

This document discusses the development of systems from the viewpoint of instructional technology, some traditional and future teacher roles, the introduction of new media at the curriculum development stage, and the dichotomy between education and training. Reference is made to the contributions of Bruner, Carpenter, Finn, and Hoban in the…

This study evaluates a project proposal prepared by a California school district. Using simple arithmetic and algebraic methods, the evaluators determined that the proposed individualized instruction system would be unsuccessful. A flowchart developed from the proposal visually depicts the weaknesses in the proposal for which appropriate…

Because of shortcomings in the traditional approach to instruction and learning at Waukesha County Technical Institute in Wisconsin, this research was conducted to determine the effectiveness of an alternate approach to instruction in electronics technology. The "Closed Loop Systems Approach to Instruction" developed for this study was derived…

This document reports the activities of a workshop to describe and implement a planning, programing, budgeting system (PPBS) in the Beverly Hills Unified School District. During the workshop, the literature and the legal provisions were reviewed, the initial planning was accomplished, the program structured, and the goals identified. Further…

Current practices of planning-programing-budgeting systems in educational organizations have been criticized because they impose objectives, emphasize hierarchical control, and foster unproductive climates. A new method, organizational development, makes effective use of human behavior and when used with PPBS could provide an efficient system for…

This report describes some programs that attempt to raise the quality of school buildings without raising the cost of building them. Educational changes have required new sets of spaces in schoolhouses, whose specifications could only be met by changes in building technology and in construction management. This triumvirate of change emerged in the…

Network-based management procedures serve as valuable aids in organizational management, achievement of objectives, problem solving, and decisionmaking. Network techniques especially applicable to educational management systems are the program evaluation and review technique (PERT) and the critical path method (CPM). Other network charting…

To improve education, creative alternatives to existing practices must be developed. Instructional technology offers promise, but its potential can be made use of fully only within a systems approach, applied both to improving structures of education and instructional processes. The systems approach can plan a system of instruction which has all…

Selected aspects and results of an interdisciplinary research and education program to examine the potential and problems associated with the use of communication satellites to help meet educational needs in the United States are summarized. The progress of the program to date in four major areas is described: needs analysis, communications…