Multiage grouping and related instructional practices are being implemented with increasing frequency in classrooms across the nation. If implementation is carefully and knowledgeably planned, these innovations offer promising alternatives to traditional graded educational practices. This digest briefly describes issues to be considered before…

Introducing enduring innovations into a higher education organization requires commitment and support from colleagues. Organizational change involves three steps: (1) mobilization; (2) implementation; and (3) institutionalization. Without institutionalization, the innovation is likely to be terminated despite how well it may be communicated and…

This publication highlights 48 recent ERIC listings which help to explain the variety of emerging technologies for the delivery of information in educational settings. Specific technologies addressed include cable television, electronic mail, satellite communication, teleconferencing, videodisc, and videotex. Entries were selected for inclusion…

This book presents a theoretical road map for teachers, professors, or administrators who seek guidance from the educational change literature. The introduction presents an overview of assumptions, early traditions of change research, other reviews of change research, and practical application of education change theory. Eleven chapters discuss:…

Cites documents from the ERIC collection dealing with occupational education in community colleges. Addresses the following aspects: special programs for women and the handicapped, occupational program planning and evaluation, the relationship between general education and career training, cooperative relationships between schools and industry,…

Distinctive colleges and universities, as opposed to the great majority which fit into a more or less standardized mold, possess a unifying theme or vision which is expressed in all their activities. They often respond to newly emerging societal or community needs unmet by existing colleges and universities; they challenge conventional ideas about…

This brief report summarizes a longer document with the same title. Distinctive colleges and universities possess a unifying theme or vision that is expressed in all their activities. They also usually respond to newly emerging societal or community needs unmet by existing schools of higher education. Distinctiveness, however, can limit the…

Educational restructuring is influencing the change in names of vocational education specialty areas as well as the change in course offerings for the specialties. In some schools, the name "vocational education" has been replaced with new names more reflective of the school's restructuring efforts. Within a given area, new courses are being added…

The critical thinking movement is responding nationwide to the challenge of teaching thought processes to students. This volume contains 10 articles addressing critical thinking and the instruction of higher-level thinking skills: (1) "Critical Thinking: What, Why, and How," by Richard Paul; (2) "Teaching Critical Thinking across the Curriculum,"…

Given recent research that encourages more frequent use of the discussion method in teaching, this digest reviews the role of instructional conversations (ICs) in second language learning. ICs, instructional in content and conversational in quality, offer natural and spontaneous language interactions that are free from the didactic characteristics…

Three major purposes have been proposed for Professional Development Schools: (1) to improve education of prospective and practicing teachers; (2) to strengthen knowledge and practice in teaching; and (3) to strengthen the profession of teaching by serving as models of promising and productive structural relations. At present there is neither a…

In order to facilitate the transition to a multiracial community and to meet the prevailing desire for academic excellence, magnet schools have arisen in urban areas throughout the country. These schools meet racial quotas through voluntary enrollment and open access, promote integration through cooperative learning practices, emphasize personal…

The master's degree is reviewed in terms of its current status and rate of conferral, its diversity, standards, and the dominant program models. Changes in the patterns of master's degrees conferred, by discipline, are examined, and problems associated with the proliferation of degrees are noted. Diversity in curricular models is cited as a source…

This book is the first of four volumes in a directory of more than 1,000 discretionary grants and contracts supported by the Research to Practice Division of the Office of Special Education Programs. This volume focuses on projects concerned with research, innovation, and evaluation divided into two broad discretionary programs: "Research and…

This book is a directory of about 1,100 discretionary projects supported by the Office of Special Education Programs and focuses on projects concerned with research, innovation, and evaluation. This first volume of four presents projects categorized in the following two discretionary programs: "Research and Innovation To Improve Services and…