The current pace of technological advance has provided an unprecedented opportunity to use innovative simulated tasks in computerized assessment. A primary challenge for the successful use of innovation in assessment rests with the application of sound principles of design to produce a valid assessment. An additional challenge is to maximize the…

The 5 year KP-Lab project funded under the FP6 of the European Commission's Programme for Research and Technological Development is about developing theories, tools, practical models, and research methods that deliberately advance the ways in which knowledge is created and which help to transform knowledge practices in education and in the…

This paper reviews the empirical research that has been done with computer assisted instruction (CAI) in an attempt to gain an overview that will allow the effectiveness of CAI to be evaluated. In the review, the area of CAI is divided into four basic modes: drill and practice, problem solving, tutorial, and simulation. Each mode is defined, and…

This paper reviews the literature on 4x4 block scheduling. Studies reveal that the advantages of such scheduling are simplicity, potential for greater student achievement, and reduced disciplinary referrals. Discipline is enhanced through this type of schedule because it decreases the number of times that students are moving in the halls between…

The individualization of curriculum is a challenge for the teacher education system in India. Curricula are prescribed by Universities for all the affiliated colleges, and these undergo revision only every few years. The curriculum innovation described in this report is a response to this challenge. The study explores a unique case of the…

Problems of introducing students to innovational approaches to learning and an approach to solving those problems are discussed. The authors stress that students' definitions of classroom and school reality are powerful factors in the negotiation of educational change. If innovation is introduced in classrooms via lecture alone, the result is that…

This paper reviews and discusses four critical issues facing the foreign language profession. The pacing of basic foreign language instruction is too rapid, causing numerous detrimental effects on learning. Recent interest in specialized aspects of instruction, such as individualization, has resulted in unfocused leadership, so that teachers are…

The Instructional Development Division of Utah State University has developed a conceptual model of institutional renewal. The model assumes that a program based on effective and systematic interaction of all parts of an instititon will be successful and that any model of self-renewal must be eclectic rather than dogmatic. A further assumption is…

The Office of Instructional Resources of the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign is described in relation to the suprasystem encompassing the state legislature, the board of trustees, parent and alumni groups, and state and federal agencies. The system consists of campus administration, colleges, academic departments, research units, and other…

In a response to a call for educators to work for social justice, this paper introduces an argument for developing a novel community of practice: a trans-profession community for social justice. The paper explores some features of community, profession, and social justice work that suggest basic elements of such a professional community, including…

"Beating the Drums for Attention" is the metaphorical title chosen to reflect the continuous effort carried out by adult educators to promote learning, to encourage a joyful approach to it and to motivate learners to be part of and actively influence the overall reflexive process they are involved in. What carries the whole movement is…

Visits to 146 schools in the winter of 1978-79 and interviews with teachers, administrators, and others involved with the implementation of 61 different instructional innovations revealed stability and durability in these innovations and fidelity to the original innovation. The innovations are those associated with federally funded projects…

UNESCO has a long record of support for innovative activities in different countries. In India, UNESCO provides assistance for several activities in the field of technical and higher education. This paper describes the effort made in India to render higher education more relevant to the needs of the country and the extent to which the different…

The seven papers and four discussions in this publication present several perspectives on educational innovation and its adoption in the schools. Topics discussed include political and structural protection of innovations, change introduced from outside the school, ESEA Title III influences on change processes, local school district change…

The way in which examinations influence teaching and learning is called washback. This study examined the attitudes of 100 teachers towards the computerization of the English section of the Spanish University Entrance Examination paying special attention to the nature and scope of these changes, and the constraints and benefits. A 10 item…