Provides step-by-step description of a group intermix strategy ("tearing up the book") intended to ensure that a group of learners shares a body of knowledge prior to discussion. Offers suggestions for using strategy in rural classrooms. Includes 19-item annotated bibliography of appropriate grade 5-12 books for using this technique.

The article proposes training rural educators to become self-directed in their own improvement activities. The article summarizes current literature and notes four skills necessary for self-directed development: objectivity; self-critiques; examining only a few instructional skills at a given time; and reinforcement of self. (SB)

Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) grants give rural districts a new source of federal funds. REAP has two separate programs that address the specific needs of rural districts. The first is the Small and Rural Schools Achievement Program; the second is the Rural and Low Income Schools Program. Explains the differences in the programs and…

This project proposal describes a pilot project, "Regional Course Sharing Through Technology," at Chadron State College, Nebraska, which utilizes telecommunications to enable small, rural schools to share teaching staff among several schools. Away from the highly populated urban areas of Nebraska, most school districts are widely…

This manual is designed to help rural Chapter 1 program staff effectively run their programs. Upon reviewing the history of the Chapter 1 legislation and program, the document stresses program design, evaluation, and improvement as three easy ways to understanding the Chapter 1 program. Program design should determine the district eligibility for…

Rural schools in Utah responded to state and local calls for school reform by implementing Outcome Based Education (OBE) programs beginning in March 1984. Significant improvements in learning have occurred as measured by test scores. Workshops introduced rural educators to OBE which provided a philosophical and operational framework for school…

Approximately 85 educators from six states participated in a regional conference designed to showcase exemplary and collaborative programs to overcome many of the barriers faced by rural adults in pursuing higher education. After the keynote address, "The Role of Adult Learning in Revitalizing Rural Communities," by Cornelia Butler Flora, the…

Vocational and technical training programs for less developed countries offer little in the way of training the intermediate cadres, technicians, and village level workers necessary for modernizing the primary sector on which developing economies depend. Training is vital because it secures cost reduction and maximum use of organization, enables…

In 1986, it was reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that nearly one-third of U.S. commercial farmers were economically threatened. This monograph presents effective adult education programs developed in eight Midwestern states (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota) in response to the farm…

The paper provides guidelines to rural school districts developing community support and resources for their gifted education programs. The following seven questions are addressed: (1) Does your gifted/talented program and community need a formal community resource development team? (2) If so, how should it be developed? (3) How can you get other…

This booklet is designed to serve as a practical guide to assist teachers in using the Illinois Core Curriculum in Agriculture to develop courses of study for local vocational agriculture courses. Provided first is an overview of vocational agriculture programs on the secondary-school level in the state of Illinois. The next section is a guide for…

An effective teaching technique for a university extension course for rural special education teachers is the respond/read/replicate/report system. The four-step system was developed to stimulate tired, beleaguered teachers with differing experiences, knowledgeability, and teaching/learning styles who drove up to 60 miles on country roads to…

Describes program designed to increase student attendance at San Jacinto (California) Unified School District (approximately 2,300 grade K-12 students) that includes goal setting, successive communications with students and parents, establishment of School Attendance Review Board, and student recognition/rewards. Reports average attendance…

Describes preventative remediation program, developed and implemented by author, for mild emotional/behavioral problems in rural elementary schools which allows students to remain in their regular classroom. Emphasizes consultative team approach utilizing itinerant behavioral specialists, school psychologists, and/or special education teachers,…