With 138 sites nationwide and over 70,000 teachers participating each year, the National Writing Project offers readily available opportunity for improved writing instruction. Essentially a staff-development program, the project is based on the belief that the key agent in educational change is the teacher. (Author/MLW)

This paper deals with the place of religion in the curriculum of the junior college, with due regard for the constitutional separation of church and state. For the author's purpose, religion is defined as "that group of concepts ... of theology that have shaped our Western culture ... and the non-Christian world." One semester could deal with the…

Documents reviewed were descriptions of the functions of student personnel programs rather than assessment of their effects. Six areas of responsibility (orientation, appraisal, counseling and guidance, activities, regulations, and services) were generally accepted, with overall program administration constituting a possible additional area. More…

One of the primary methods of assessing institutional effectiveness is through the implementation of attitudinal surveys. In fall 1988 and fall 1989, surveys were administered to all employees of Cerritos College (CC) to examine employee attitudes about the institution and to collect demographic data about respondents. Among the 691 employees who…

During 1977-78, North Central Technical College (NCTC) initiated a comprehensive planning system incorporating diagnostic analyses of both the professional development needs of individual faculty members and the long-term needs of the institution as a whole. The faculty needs analysis was facilitated through an Instructional Development and…

This competency-based program guide provides course content information and procedures for secondary schools, postsecondary vocational schools, and community colleges in Florida that conduct programs in basic precision machining and precision machining. The first section is on legal authority, which applies to all vocational education programs in…

This report describes a curriculum reform project conducted at Spokane Community College (Washington), which has extensive vocational programs and a high percentage of non-traditional students. The purpose of the project was to develop and test a series of student Learning Activity Packets (LAPs), which introduce fundamental chemistry concepts by…

Three conferences on educational innovation raised basic questions concerning goals and values for junior college students. Speakers addressed each of the conferences on problems encountered in their respective areas of humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences. The addresses are presented, along with recommendations made by the…

In response to dwindling enrollments and increasing competition from other postsecondary institutes and private training schools, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) has developed a marketing plan to take advantage of existing opportunities. SAIT's Marketing Department focuses on developing a strong and unique institutional image…

Six methods of equating Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) test scores for samples consisting of the usual groups of examinees and groups controlled for native language representation were evaluated in terms of scale stability. The equating methods included three item response theory (IRT) variants (fixed b's scaling, a one-parameter…

Assembly Bill 1725 requires that the Board of Governors of California Community Colleges, relying upon the advice of the Academic Senate, prepare and maintain a list of disciplines that are "reasonably related" to one another, as well as a list of disciplines in which the master's degree is not generally available or expected of prospective…

Explores "type 3" online educational discussions, in which instructors create an online learning community (OLC) via a threaded discussion that allows students to collect, evaluate, and create their own learning strategies. States that through the OLC, students construct their own understanding of how learning strategies work. (NB)

In the last 10 years community college enrollments have leveled off, bringing a new urgency to institutional efforts to retain current students. Obstacles to academic persistence include external factors such as insufficient funds, work demands, social demands, family obligations, housing or transportation problems; and internal problems such as…

AN INSTRUCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION, WHO HAD COMPLETED THE FIRST MONTH OF A 1-YEAR CONTRACT, WAS INFORMED THAT HIS CONTRACT WOULD NOT BE RENEWED FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR THOUGH HE WOULD BE ALLOWED TO COMPLETE HIS CURRENT CONTRACT. IN PROTEST AGAINST THE AMERICAN BLOCKADE OF CUBA, HE HAD PICKETED THE LOCAL POST OFFICE, AND THIS ACTION LED TO A…

A study of the role of subject matter in shaping high school teachers' beliefs, curricular concerns, and instructional practices complements studies of the disciplines in higher education. Factors discussed include the "hard/soft" distinction between disciplines, curriculum sequencing, range of classroom techniques, breadth of course content, and…