This publication identifies a set of recognized skills and knowledge areas possessed by effective professional development (PD) coordinators. It is designed to enable PD staff and their supervisors to think reflectively about their PD system, to identify how the system builds on the strengths of the coordinator and the PD staff, to identify where…

This participant handbook is composed of supplemental instructional materials for a course designed to teach the organization and management of training, including roles and functions performed and the needs, costs, benefits, and productivity of training systems. A course outline or syllabus provide a course description, course objectives, subject…

An innovative session was conducted to introduce session participants to a concept and researched model for linking organizational culture and performance. The session goals were as follows: (1) give participants a working knowledge of the link between business culture and key business performance indicators; (2) give participants a hands-on…

This document contains four symposium papers on assessing employee performance. In "Influence of Liking and Similarity on Multi-rater Proficiency Ratings of Managerial Competencies" (Reid A. Bates), the pattern of correlations identified between raters, independent variables, and different competencies suggests that raters may react…

A study was conducted to identify training activities that are helpful in preparing secondary school students to become effective workers. First, 12 activities designed to prepare secondary school leavers for clerical/administrative jobs were identified through a literature review and a pilot study of 468 final-year secondary school students in…

This report describes major activities and accomplishments of the Arkansas Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on Enhancing Employability of Individuals with Disabilities from August 5, 1994 through May 14, 1996. The Center has a 5-year contract in the priority area of enhancing employability of individuals with severe disabilities. The…

This compilation of the knowledge and experience of 49 training and development professionals is a guide to the most important aspects of training and development (T&D), ranging from the environment in which it operates to detailed suggestions as to how it can be done. Contributors' notes appear first. Part 1 on the world of T&D contains seven…

The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) examined the demands of the workplace and whether young people were capable of meeting those demands. Specifically, SCANS determined the level of skills required to enter employment. Fundamental changes in the nature of work were identified; these changes were found to hold…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on learning organization practices. "The Beliefs of Managers as Facilitators of Learning in Learning Organizations" (Andrea D. Ellinger) reports selected findings from a qualitative study that examined the perceptions of managers regarding their beliefs, behaviors, triggers, and…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on transfer of learning. "The Effect of a Mastery Practice Design on Learning and Transfer in Behavior Modeling Training of Supervisory Listening Skills" (Gary L. May) reports on a case-control study that drew from research in the cognitive sciences on complex skill acquisition to create a…

This is the sixth and final report of the National Research Council's Committee on the Performance of Military Personnel on the Joint-Service Job Performance Measurement/Enlistment Standards (JPM) Project, a project designed to develop measures of performance for entry-level military jobs so that enlistment standards could be linked to performance…

Case studies were developed and analyzed during the spring and summer of 1991 for 10 workers participating in workplace classroom training. These adults were nominated by their respective labor unions because they provided good illustrations of how workplace educational programs can affect literacy and job performance. Descriptive methods used to…

An overview is presented of methods of teacher assessment. The most heavily used methods of teacher assessment are standardized paper-and-pencil examinations and on-the-job ratings by supervisors. An alternative to the paper-and-pencil approach is explored, and preliminary evidence is presented in support of this assessment strategy.…

The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) examined the demands of the workplace and whether young people were capable of meeting those demands. Specifically, SCANS determined the level of skills required to enter employment. Fundamental changes in the nature of work were identified; these changes were found to hold…

Critical incidents in college teaching and administration were studied, based on survey responses from 356 faculty at 31 urban institutions in various regions of the United States. "Critical incidents" either create or damage faculty or administrators' motivation for achieving excellence in their task performance. In addition to…