Implementation of this competency-based data processing course avoided the high start-up costs of self-paced instructional methodology, yet still resulted in increases in (1) levels of student competency, (2) student satisfaction, (3) average grade, (4) positive level of student evaluation of the teacher, and (5) proportion of students completing…

Student Affairs programs are--and must--be part of the educational enterprise of higher education, focusing on life-centered and life-long competencies. (Author)

The author describes the Predischarge Education Program (PREP) developed by the Department of Defense as a competency-based high school completion program for military personnel. (DS)

Reviews a system approach to change in order to focus on interesting developmental techniques for multi-university system improvement. The specific change discussed is translation of existing courses and curricula to a competency approach in order to bring about extended degree opportunities for non-traditional students. (Author/VT)

Argues that educational focus is stronger and clearer with educational competencies rather than with educational objectives. (SL)

Describes the Career Education Center's (Florida State University) development of the "Automotive Mechanics Catalog" (a job inventory noting performance objectives for specific occupational programs), using the Vocational-Technical Education Consortium of States (V-TECS) model. Also describes the development of curriculum materials using…

Competency-based vocational education is defined and broken down into ten basic components (e.g., developing occupational inventories, needed materials, and lesson plans; analyzing occupational survey data and existing materials; updating the task analysis; and revising). Pointers for checking the system and moving it to higher levels of…

An approach being used at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy to enhance the ability of pharmacy students to communicate effectively with their patients is described. The module consists of a syllabus, original videotapes, audiotapes, assigned readings, and evaluation tools. (LBH)

Examines key descriptors of competency-based education in light of critiques from the fields of curriculum theory, adult basic education, and second-language acquisition theory. Included is a discussion of: behavioral orientation; student-centered instruction; demonstrated mastery; and modularized instruction. (Author/CB)

Three authors respond to the findings of a study by Griffiths and King, which was contracted by the Department of Education to identify the professional competencies that should be encompassed by library and information science programs, and the methods by which the competencies' relation to professional performance may be evaluated. (CLB)

This study investigates whether groups of children on a microcomputer task show superior performance to individuals and whether the differences are due to social-cooperative or individual-cognitive facilitation. Considers the relationship between expressed knowledge and problem-solving performance across three conditions. (Author/CT)

Distinctions between performance and learning are made in a discussion of databased instructional planning and decision making for handicapped students. Implications for IEP objectives are noted and the importance of continuous assessment stressed. (CL)

Describes a model for identifying and meeting needs of entire organizations and the society which the organization serves, and suggests ways to integrate these into planning, development, and organizational success. It is suggested that training success can be improved by decreasing focus on means and getting more precise about results. (MBR)

Developers of high stakes criterion-referenced tests are urged to formulate test tasks so that efficient instruction can promote student mastery of the domain. Time-on-task has been promoted by instructional psychologists as preferable to test teaching. (DWH)