This practicum report describes a program designed to increase elementary teachers' comfort and skill in the use of computer related technology for the purpose of establishing effective integration of instructional technology. Other stated ancillary goals included improved instructional effectiveness in the classroom through the development of an…

A study surveyed 139 individuals to determine if differences in the way they approached the physical attributes of various learning environments could be attributed to either gender or age. Participants were Montana State University graduate students in education; adult basic education students in Bozeman, Montana; adult basic education faculty…

Both interview and direct observation data were collected via on-site visits with the training directors at 22 U.S. training centers which had been identified as the best training facilities in order to examine why the instructional methods, techniques, and media changes in use had been tried and adopted, and to identify the trends these methods…

Making changes in the area of grouping for instruction is difficult because it involves adjustments in the curriculum, in teacher planning, and in teacher attitudes. A concern that the present form of grouping may result in intellectual and racial discrimination began in the Central Office and the Curriculum Office of the Crete-Monee School…

The Dissemination Efforts Supporting School Improvement (DESSI) study examined the adoption or development and implementation in 146 schools in 10 states of 61 practices that were part of 4 federal or state programs. Local schools in the study sample were asked to identify those individuals (facilitators) who had helped them with a particular new…

Hearings were held in California, Illinois, Georgia, and Washington, D.C., to receive testimony concerning the Parental and Medical Leave Act of 1987, a bill intended to promote the economic security of many families by providing job-protected leave for parents upon the birth, adoption, or serious illness of a child, and temporary medical leave…

These four case studies examine the introduction of interactive videodisc technology into three classroom settings by two art and two science teachers at the elementary school level. Five models of videodisc use were employed: (1) teacher presentation or teacher-led class discussion; (2) activity stimulus; (3) programmed disc-based environments…

Despite consensus on the administrative reforms needed in school effectiveness programs, policy problems are raised when administrators and school boards want to translate research findings on school improvement into practical terms. Although school systems are now using a number of organizational tools that lift standardized test scores (for…

This report describes the research setting for the Schools, Computers, and Learning Project, an ongoing longitudinal and multidimensional study of the mutual adaptation of classroom practice and computer technology. Following a brief discussion of the research intentions and an overview of the research methodology, the report is divided into five…

Two models can be suggested for keeping abreast of and implementing changes in business education and office procedures in order to take advantage of changing technology. The model for keeping abreast of change contains two major elements: sources of input and periodic meetings. The sources of input include attending meetings and conferences,…

Many factors make it difficult for establishment institutions to recruit adoptive minority families. Minority adoptive parent groups have begun to have an impact on removal of obstacles to recruitment of families and placement of minority children in permanent homes. Because parent groups have organized to educate both their communities and the…

Prepared for joint hearings on the impact of the proposed budget cuts on programs affecting children, these background materials describe the main programs which serve children in five general areas. These areas are health services for mothers and children, child nutrition programs, aid to families with dependent children, day care and other child…

Teachers who implement new programs have often been observed to adapt them to suit their own teaching situations. This process of adaptation raises four important issues: (1) Can teachers replicate practices developed elsewhere? (2) Can they be equally effective in doing so? (3) Must adaptation occur for implementation to succeed? and (4) Can…

Social causes such as "improved nutritional practices" could benefit from marketing-like thinking. The improvement of nutritional practices, like other social concerns such as pollution control, drug abuse, and physical fitness, needs innovative solutions and approaches for gaining public attention and support. Marketing persons, by their…

There is national concern for the estimated 100,000 "special needs" children who are not quickly adopted because of age, race, ethnic background, sibling relationship, medical condition, or physical, mental or emotional handicaps. That concern has been translated into concrete recommendations in the form of a model act written by the…