The essential skills in the dramatic arts for K-12 students as promulgated by the State of Arizona are presented. Three goals are identified for all students: (1) create drama through artistic collaboration; (2) form aesthetic judgments; and (3) relate dramatic arts and its significant works to its social and historical context. The ways in which…

An examination is made of the increasing educational demands of the modern workplace during a time when the makeup of an already shrinking workforce is becoming more composed of minorities, women, and immigrants. Articles in this newsletter issue discuss which jobs will grow and which will decline; the new educational demands and skills required…

A study was conducted to determine employers' satisfaction with blue-collar and clerical employees entering the nation's work force. In addition, the study measured employers' perceptions of the ability of their employees to be retrained. A total of 200 executive interviews, of approximately 2 minutes each, were collected from a national sample of…

The Early Childhood Language Centered Intervention Program of the New York City Public Schools was designed to provide classroom instruction and transportation for preschool children with primary and secondary speech/language handicaps, and to train parents to participate in the education of these children. Using individual education plans (IEPs),…

Characteristics of successful and unsuccessful problem solvers in categorization tasks are examined in this study of undergraduate students. Findings are reviewed of the categorization and solution tasks undertaken by a group (N=21) of science majors at a private university. The subjects were classified as either successful or unsuccessful in…

Substance abuse among adolescents is modeled and reinforced by the peer culture. Experimentation with drugs seems to have become a typical part of normal adolescent development. The solution to adolescent substance abuse will only be arrived at through gathering facts and designing intervention programs based on those facts. Since the two most…

Beginning with a rationale for implementing a primary grade keyboarding course, this paper describes the implementation of such a course at the Bernardsville (New Jersey) Elementary School. The methods and procedures discussed include the essential concepts to consider when teaching keyboarding and the materials necessary to implement the program.…

Lake Sumter Community College (Florida) undertook a project to improve its existing job placement services for vocational students. The primary objectives of the project were to develop and implement a system for all vocational students to register with the placement office, inform all vocational students and instructors about the services…

A logical, performer-based approach to teaching psychomotor skills is described. Four phases of surgical psychomotor skills training are identified, using an example from a dental preclinical training curriculum: (1) dental students are acquainted with the postural and positional parameters of balanced psychomotor performances; (2) students learn…

A study examined whether the basic skills performances of children in the primary grades were responsive to their inferencing abilities. It was hypothesized that the three components (informational, causal, and evaluative) of the second and third grade inferencing abilities tests would constitute a hierarchy of inferencing and that the impact of…

A study identified competencies high school industrial arts courses can develop that would be valuable to students who enroll in postsecondary programs. Its purpose was to develop a basis for recruiting students for high school industrial arts courses. Data were collected through a national survey of directors of one- and two-year postsecondary…

Teaching English composition and interpersonal communication concurrently enhances students' opportunities to learn and apply communication skills. Since many of these skills are common to both courses of study, not only is learning reinforced, but the skills can be presented and practiced in a variety of ways. More important, English composition…

This document consists of an interim report and a final report which describe the second and third phases of a project designed to determine the utility and utilization of sophisticated hardware and software capabilities known as advanced instructional features (AIFs). Used with an aircrew training device (ATD), AIFs permit a simulator instructor…

Recognizing that toy-making activities have tremendous potential for developing good parent-child interactions, this paper examines (1) the why, where, when, how, and who of making toys at home; (2) the use of toys in play; and (3) the value of toys as tools for learning. The snags and obstacles of toy making as well as the challenges and benefits…

Patterns of drug use among teenagers indicate they are highly influenced by peers. To examine the influence of Say It Straight, an alcohol/drug abuse prevention program aimed at teaching adolescents to deal with peer pressure, sixth, seventh and eighth graders (N=509) created and role played situations in which they wanted to say "no" to…