The Teacher Quality Toolkit addresses the continuum of teacher learning by providing tools that can be used to improve both preservice, and inservice teacher education. Each chapter provides self assessment tools that can guide progress toward improved teacher quality and describes resources for designing exemplary programs and practices. Chapters…

The first edition of this book, titled "A Design for Instructional Supervision", provided a structural framework for an effective program of instructional supervision. The basic cognitive thrust of this second edition, "Supervision: A Guide to Instructional Leadership", remains the same as the first. What has changed is the attention to the…

The second edition of Functional Curriculum for Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Age Students with Special Needs has an expanded framework for a functional and longitudinal curriculum for children and adolescents with disabilities and other special needs. These is a stronger demand than ever to provide a curriculum with everyday usefulness and…

Out-of-school time (OST) programs have taken on a new importance in recent years because of changes in society. This paper examines OST programming and suggests reasons and mechanisms for integrating outcomes and research into program design. It explains and promotes the integration of outcomes and research into program development, provides…

This issue brief discusses the benefits of mentoring for youth with disabilities and strategies for encouraging mentoring. It begins by discussing research that has demonstrated the effectiveness of mentoring and different types of mentoring, including a new model of electronic mentoring that is increasing in popularity. A chart shows how…

There is plentiful discussion about the importance of accountability, but much needs to be done to translate it into a manageable and credible system of ongoing feedback. In this book, evaluative inquiry is used in a way that balances attention between the investigation process and its purpose. The book is divided into three parts. Following an…

This book serves as a guide for educators who want to know about and use problem-based learning (PBL) in their schools. Chapter 1 provides anecdotal reports by teachers and students, including examples from universities as well as elementary and secondary education. Chapter 2 gives an overview of PBL for those who want to learn more about the…

Educational design encompasses many aspects of educational software development but needs to be extended to Project Design (PD) by inclusion of a strategy for dissemination. This crucial aspect of PD should be considered from the start and usually involves commercialization. Models for commercialization are diverse, and the choice can have…

While states have put in place scores of youth polices, no state can claim to have a single, coherent youth policy that serves as a lens for assessing and planning individual policies. However, across the country, states are working to develop more coordinated approaches to youth policy. This paper highlights the work that states are doing to…

The attempts of the employment community and education to develop the local school-to-work (STW) systems required by the 1994 School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) have generally failed to result in effective collaboration in the design and implementation of comprehensive STW systems. The first installment of a 5-year study of the STWOA found…

This final report discusses the outcomes of a project that created a Universal Access System (UAS), a system that gives students with disabilities access to the same computers as their classmates. The project developed a new approach in which the needs of the individual with disabilities are handled separately from the computers and other devices…

This paper examines the efforts of a university teacher preparation program working in collaboration with the faculty of a rural high school to provide a professional development model of preparing future teachers. The key elements of the partnership model are based on Goodlad's four functions of partner schools: preparing educators, providing…

This paper reviews service learning definitions and principles to illustrate common threads connecting service learning philosophy across contexts. Although there is general agreement that service learning occurs in school-based and community-based categories, it cannot be universally defined. Definitions from K-12, higher education, and adult…

This training package is designed to assist postsecondary education staff to understand the vocational rehabilitation philosophy, mandates, and process, and conversely, to assist vocational rehabilitation counselors to understand postsecondary education's philosophy, mandates, and student issues. It is intended to provide sufficient information to…

This report discusses the activities and outcomes an inservice training model. This model was designed to help states provide ongoing training to early intervention, early childhood, and vision personnel. The focus is on personnel that specialize inserving visually impaired children from time of birth to age five. The purpose of the project is to…