This report describes four projects designed to expand the use of volunteers to improve vocational education in urban areas. Following an introduction, four sections look at the 12-month projects in Albuquerque, Philadelphia, Dade County (Florida), and Chicago that field tested a handbook for the design, implementation, and evaluation of…

A project was conducted to develop and implement a curriculum for a series of group sessions designed to assist students in associate degree nursing programs in the socialization process of becoming a nurse. During the curriculum development phase of the project, specific plans and procedures were formulated for 10 monthly sessions that were…

Can a professional committee have any impact, even indirectly, on the well-being of children? The Child Development Committee of the Maternal and Child Health Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) was established in October 1976 with the hope of responding to this challenging question. The Committee determined that one ideal…

A project developed and published a handbook for coordinators of nontraditional occupations (NTO) programs for adult women in postsecondary vocational-technical institutions and a guide for women considering NTO career options. Information about successful elements of postsecondary programs for adult women in NTOs was collected both from a…

A quasi-experimental, pretest/posttest, treatment group/control group design was used to test the effectiveness of 36 entrepreneurship modules. The field test design featured multiple replications at sites across the country. Participating students were enrolled in various types of secondary vocational schools and programs and experienced various…

In Rasch terminology, two or more tests are linked when they are joined into a pool related to a single scale. When the same item calibrates at a low level on one test and a high level on a second test, it indicates that the item is low on the first test because the other items on that test are higher, and is high on the second test because the…

Discusses highlights of a literature review on guidelines for formative evaluation of courseware and the development of a formative evaluation instrument by the Kanata High Technology Training Association (Ottawa). The eight dimensions of the resultant questionnaire are listed and a copy of the evaluation instrument is included. (MBR)

Describes the Answer Machine, a microcomputer system which uses the EasyNet software to provide a gateway to more than 900 online databanks. Topics covered include: (1) system features; (2) costs; (3) experiences and results of a user questionnaire at a test site at the University of Pennsylvania; and (4) benefits for libraries. (MES)

The development, field testing, and evaluation of a checklist approach to selecting an integrated library automation system are described, and recommendations for using this approach are outlined. The checklist, which is divided into five main sections of catalog features and functions, is appended. (Author/CLB)

Documents early efforts of the four units of Electronic Text Consortium as they investigated uses of electronic text in higher education. The University of Wisconsin Extension's creation and implementation of electronic text products are described, and the practical issues illuminated by this project are discussed. (MBR)

Ten working guidelines for use in developing educational software programs present standards evolved by one courseware producer for program content, learner motivation, the learning environment, educational objectives, field testing, learner control of the learning experience, monitoring and reviewing learner's activities, documentation, accuracy…

This demonstration booklet illustrates the kinds of exercises or test questions and tasks used in the assessment of student achievement in reading and in writing by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Each student will be asked to complete the background section and the cognitive sections in one subject, and the assessment will…

This demonstration booklet illustrates the kinds of exercises or test questions and tasks used in the assessment of student achievement in reading and writing by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Each student will be asked to complete the background section and the cognitive sections for one subject, and the assessment will…

Describes a project at Bell Laboratories which sought a compromise between ideal formative evaluation procedures and more feasible procedures necessitated by restrictions on time and resources. Local-trial and field-trial stages of a phased approach are discussed, as well as the benefits of field-tests. (EAO)

Describes a field test of Future School, an educational game which attempts to effect behavior change by first changing attitudes during a simulated experience. Discussion of simulations and games to achieve attitude change is included. (JJD)