Responding to a state legislative mandate establishing the Iowa Educational Excellence Program, a coalition comprised of the Iowa State Education Association, the Iowa Association of School Boards, and the Iowa Department of Education was formed to examine and address the growing needs and concerns of teachers, including teacher compensation. The…

The laboratory school for Southeast Missouri State University offers individualized French and Spanish second language instruction to secondary students by scheduling them together in one multilevel class. Students progress individually and in small groups through planned, self-paced, continuous progress programs. Each student is given a checklist…

Nontraditional approaches in higher education are discussed, with attention to: (1) economic and philosophical reasons for nontraditional education; (2) future thrusts; (3) nontraditional instructional modalities; and (4) the implications for higher education of the extensive use of nontraditional approaches. It is suggested that nontraditional…

Empire State College's alternative approaches to higher education are described in this report. The college is a nontraditional institution emphasizing the following innovative elements: (1) individualized education, carried out through learning contracts; (2) an open format for easy access, placing minimal constraints on time, place, residence…

This journal is devoted to the art of teaching in the field of speech communication. Articles collected in this issue address topics on the development of basic speech communication courses and include the following titles: "Onward . . . A Tradition Continues"; "Performance Courses: No Way to Run a Railroad" and "Not Revolution but Revision,"…

This handbook presents guidelines for developing, monitoring, and evaluating cooperative educational opportunities that allow students to document learning gained on their current job, through work-study placements, or through placements in local business. The handbook first outlines the objectives of the Community College of Vermont's cooperative…

This manual on faculty growth contracting as done at Gordon College (Massachusetts) is divided into three sections. The first is a progress report on the college's efforts in growth contracts. It discusses the principles of the contracting, difficulties of implementation, unanswered questions (impact on teaching effectivenees, what to do when…

The Adolescent Diversion Project, an alternative to court processing for juvenile offenders, employs intervention strategies of behavioral contracting and advocacy. Youth (N=73) were assigned to one of three conditions: (1) the control group receiving usual court treatment; (2) the family condition involving a trained undergraduate volunteer who…

This case study focuses on the Forsokgymnaset, Oslo, (FGO), Norway, which came into being as a new type of school without any influence from lifelong education but whose features, especially the emphasis on students' responsibility for their own growth, are applicable to lifelong learning. Chapter 1, an introduction to lifelong education,…

This workbook was designed to aid students at Whatcom Community College in writing learning contracts for independent study. The workbook first explains the purpose of the contract, which specifies what is to be learned, how the learning will take place, and the methods of evaluation to be used. Procedures, guidelines, and illustrations are then…

The materials contained in this package are designed to aid Community College of Vermont (CCV) associate degree students in the development and implementation of their own written, individualized, competence-based learning contracts. As development of the contract requires both assessment of prior learning and planning for sponsored learning, the…

The development of a modularized program for secondary educational psychology students at the University of Colorado is reviewed. The beginning stages and prototype produced are described, but emphasis is on the revision of the first system. Changes in the course, covering both educational and adolescent psychology, include expansion of the number…

Several innovative approaches to the orientation course that have been tested in a community college are described. These approaches emphasize the areas of orientation of special importance in the community college: adjustment to the freedoms and responsibilities of being a college student, development of communication skills and relationships…

Focusing on the communication arts, the articles in this volume include "Communication: The Echo in the Lives of Your Students"; "Communication through Interacting Curriculum Design"; "American Studies Provide Opportunity for Communication"; "Humanities-Oriented Independent Study"; "Composing for Real"; "The Editorial: A Teaching Device for…

These seven monographs survey the issues and problems of (1) sensitivity training, (2) differentiated staffing, (3) planning-programing-budgeting systems, (4) systems analysis, (5) the delphi technique, (6) performance contracting, and (7) educational vouchers. The papers are designed to be used as a matrix for reference and planning by interested…