To facilitate effective group learning, adult educators should understand group dynamics, group size and structure, process, expectations and ground rules, and learning styles. Cooperation, active learning, and creative problem solving are enhanced in group instruction. (SK)

Residential workshops make a unique contribution to learning. They provide detachment and continuity, creating an atmosphere that enables breadth and depth of experience. (SK)

Examines educational reform as a systemic process. Views school districts as dynamic systems that use reforms to reinforce their equilibrium as institutional organizations. Institutionalization effectively blocks formal feedback to decision makers. Reforms exhibit an alternating pattern, resulting from a default feedback process reflecting…

Shaping classroom experiences before controversial material is encountered in a class increases the likelihood that students will maintain higher mental function while examining that material. Presents 10 strategies for planning a course that facilitates quality discussion and thoughtful debate. (SLD)

Considers how much entrepreneurship should be included in electronic learning (elearning) programs in higher education. Discusses planning; knowledge of the market; available resources in a usable form; considering new audiences; measuring ROI (return on investment); and alternative sources of revenue. (LRW)

Extension educators and local agencies surveyed 500 local residents (144 responses) to identify sources of stress. Five variables were significantly associated with stress levels: financial problems, job stress, too little time, major life changes in the past year, and being a woman. A Vision to Action outreach program was designed to help…

School improvement involves long-range, visionary planning. Each school in one Buffalo (New York) school district has several planning teams that include parents, students, community members, and support staff, as well as teachers and administrators. The teams are not merely problem solvers, but visionary collaborators in promoting their final…

Describes a systemwide participatory planning model designed to facilitate improvement of secondary learning disabilities programs. The model had three phases: central program planning and description, school-based program planning, and implementation and evaluation. This program generated a sense of shared ownership and direction among one…

Describes and provides evidence for three propositions for improving professional continuing education: (1) the goal of professional practice is wise action; (2) knowledge acquired from practice is essential to achieve this goal; and (3) a model of learning from practice should be the centerpiece of professional continuing education. (SK)

Current developments in dental education and practice hold tremendous potential for positive change and growth, and warrant the immediate inauguration of a planning and implementation process to exploit new opportunities rather than merely adjust existing concepts and practices. (MSE)

Discusses U.S. demographic trends in the 1990s, such as an aging population, an increasing minority population, and a shift to the South and the Southwest. Predicts tough times, an eroding psychology of affluence, generation gap closure, and a growing movement toward more rigid morality. Discusses educational implications. (MLH)

Examines the Newcastle Commission (England), recognizing it as "the best snapshot we have of the state of elementary education before 1870." Traces the appointment of the Commission, the in-fighting during its deliberations, the origins of its recommendations, its political links and Peelite debts, and its effective generation of payment…

Describes three human resource development activities: training, education, and development. Explains marketing from the practitioners's viewpoint in terms of customer orientation; external and internal marketing; and market analysis, research, strategy, and mix. Shows how to design, develop, and implement strategic marketing plans and identify…

Describes an algorithm for course scheduling that can make the process much less time consuming for chairs and deans. Notes that long-term planning is possible because of the algorithm's two-year cycle. Notes that the algorithm can be programed easily by using a spreadsheet. (RS)

Exit polling of school district election returns is a form of environmental scanning that can provide information needed for strategic planning and be used to increase the effectiveness of school election campaigns. This technique is recommended for all school districts dependent on voter approval to meet revenue needs. (11 references) (MLH)