Two feedback forms have been developed to improve communication between curriculum developers and evaluators during a pilot project involving all subject areas in eight Indonesian schools. The first form involves time factors, teacher difficulties, student achievement, and evaluation team comments; the second focuses on diagnosing poorly achieved…

Reports on a study to: (1) design, implement, and evaluate an undergraduate peer-helping program curriculum with the major objective of facilitating cognitive/affective maturity and (2) test the effectiveness and practicality of using formative research in designing and evaluating the program. Discusses findings and implications. (AYC)

Demonstrates the usefulness of classroom assessment in reducing the number of underprepared students. Recommends that faculty use classroom assessment techniques very early in the semester to determine students' knowledge level. Maintains that a vast dichotomy exists between teachers' assumptions regarding students' knowledge and what they…

Describes the development of a tool, FACT (Formative Automated Computer Testing), to formatively assess information technology skills of college students in the United Kingdom. Topics include word processing competency; tests designed by tutors and delivered via a network; and results of an evaluation that showed students preferred automated…

Describes the use of experiential learning in a university psychology course. Topics discussed include modeling teachers' attitudes and behavior; the importance of clear communication; an emphasis on process; collaborative learning; formative evaluation, including feedback on performance of both teachers and students; and summative evaluation. (21…

The North Carolina Teacher Performance Appraisal System (TPAS) and a pilot career development program were studied via a survey of 1,998 teachers and 338 evaluators. Overall reaction to the TPAS and its evaluation instrument was positive, with teachers agreeing that the procedures for formative and summative evaluations are feasible. (SLD)

Describes the implementation and field testing of PsychWare, a courseware package for introductory psychology developed and field tested at New York Institute of Technology. Highlights include the courseware package (10 software programs, a faculty manual, and a student workbook), and instructional design features (simulations, real-time…

Discusses reasons for failure in open learning, describes areas that can adversely affect student performance, and suggests possible corrective actions. Highlights include validation, or developmental testing, of courseware; the climate for learning; the role of local instructors; consequences of success or failure; course design; learning style…

Describes a study that investigated the effects of use and nonuse of an electronic formative evaluation tool, the Program Evaluation Analysis Computer system, on the cognitive, affective, and evaluative aspects of college students' perceptions of an educational television program emphasizing cognitive learning. Electronic measurement methodologies…

A discussion of group dynamics in collaborative learning describes use of this approach in an experimental biology course. Three approaches to group dynamics are outlined (personality and learning style, cognitive style, and group life). Identified are variables that teachers either have little power to affect, can address in course design, or can…

Discusses the use of students' lists of questions as a method of instructional evaluation and describes a project conducted at the Open University in Scotland that explored the feasibility of various strategies for formative evaluation of study skills workshops. The use of a diminishing list of questions for a workshop structure is described.…

The status of formal recommendations is different in the naturalistic evaluation model than in the traditional empirical model. The evaluation of a high school peer support program for alcohol abuse prevention illustrates that reader-generated recommendations may have more usefulness and impact than do evaluator-generated ideas. (SLD)

The dominant model of teacher evaluation is inadequate. Formative evaluation should be emphasized over summative evaluation, and new approaches must use legal procedures, design content-valid instruments, develop reliable indicators, and use effective conferencing techniques. Motivation and development must become the focus of teacher evaluation.…

The paper commences by briefly introducing the systems engineering programme, then focuses on the "systems" module, which requires the first-year students to undertake a number of "open-ended" projects. During the problem-based learning (PBL) based projects the students are expected to combine creativity and the knowledge they acquire during the…

The opportunities, challenges, and lessons of the pilot phase of a community development program in a small liberal arts college are presented and conceptualized in this paper. We based this program on an experiential learning model derived from Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy and Stephen Brookfield's notion of critically responsive learning. A…