Discusses sources of instructional materials pertaining to industrial arts and vocational education for the handicapped, presents brief guidelines for teachers interested in developing their own materials, and offers guidelines for effectively selecting and using instructional materials in teaching special students. (SH)

Discusses factors, beyond intuition, that produce optimal teaching: written objectives; organization of exhaustive research; selective rearrangement of subject matter; well-timed distribution of course syllabus and other handouts; planning of lesson presentation, conclusion, classroom activities and outside assignments; sensitivity to level, time…

Discusses the importance of identifying the audience and determining specific objectives when designing printed instructional materials that will communicate effectively and provides detailed guidelines for dealing with such design factors as content, writing style, typography, illustrations, and page organization. (MBR)

Systematic instructional development procedures were used to prepare materials for an introductory teaching methods course in competency-based instruction. Materials, which included self-instructional booklets, supplemental practice exercises and teaching skills tests were effective and rated highly by 10 instructors and more than 400 preservice…

Having limited accurate knowledge about the Soviet Union, this article provides U.S. teachers with information about the selection and location of resources for teaching about the USSR. Relevant information can be summarized in the classroom by using resources for students; Soviet source materials; reference materials for teachers; and information…

This discussion of strategies for integrating computers into an undergraduate curriculum on an institution-wide basis focuses on quality instructional documents and the diffusion model, which is used to incorporate innovations in a user population. The plan at Gettysburg College for curriculum-integrated computing (CIC) based on the diffusion…

Discusses whether techniques found useful in text design can be transposed to the display of computer-assisted learning (CAL) materials. Highlights include differences in interaction between books and computers; problems in learning from books; text displays; computer displays; and possible future developments. (Author/LRW)

Discusses the importance of involving experts and learners in the formative evaluation of instructional materials. A case study describing the evaluation of a filmstrip/audiotape program is presented, and the importance of gathering feedback from multiple sources before making revision decisions is emphasized. (Author/LRW)

Describes reasons for developing combined text and computer assisted instruction (CAI) teaching programs for delivery of continuing education to laboratory professionals, and mechanisms used for developing a CAI program on method evaluation in the clinical laboratory. Results of an evaluation of the software's cost effectiveness and instructional…

Discusses some of the reasons why idioms are difficult for second language learners to learn, including the fact that most materials for teaching idioms are inadequate. Criteria are suggested for choosing idioms to teach; 10 activities are described which will help students understand and produce idiomatic English. (Author/SED)

Reports on introduction of microfiches to replace conventional pre-prepared paper handouts for solutions to exercises in a first-year engineering mathematics course at Nottingham University, England. Disadvantages of using pre-prepared paper handouts, details of material layout on microfiches, material arrangement on microfiche frames, and general…

Presents a step-wise approach to introducing computer-assisted drill into a college-level preparatory chemistry course. Describes identification of need, choice of computer system, software development, program evaluation, and future directions. (JM)

Presents highlights from a panel discussion by well known San Francisco Bay area documentation writers, instructional designers, and human performance technologists. Three issues on user performance and documentation are addressed: whether people avoid reading user manuals and why; major human factors influencing documentation use; and…

The principle of the multiplier-accelerator interaction is explained, and how a computer program to model it can be developed is shown. A series of simulations that can be used to explore the model's behavior are suggested. The simulations can be used in college-level economics classes. (Author/RM)

Offers suggestions for designing and writing educationally effective computer lessons, outlining the instructional applications of computers. Also presents directives on lesson preparation, program format, graphics use, screen design and question schemata. Problem solving and integrative aspects of computerized instruction are stressed. (ML)