Open educational resources (OER) are gaining ascendancy in education, particularly in higher education. Logic suggests that the potential benefits of OER are likely to be greatest in resource-poor contexts such as Africa. However, little is known about the feasibility and sustainability of their use in African institutions. In the Health OER…

Patient health literacy skills are critical to effective healthcare communication and safe care delivery in primary care settings. Methods and strategies to identify patient health literacy (HL) capabilities and provider/staff knowledge, attitudes and beliefs (KAB) regarding HL must be known before addressing provider/staff communication skills.…

This article elaborates on how the technical capabilities of virtual reality support the constructivist learning principles. It introduces VRID, a model for instructional design and development that offers explicit guidance on how to produce an educational virtual environment. The define phase of VRID consists of three main tasks: forming a…

The Algebra Project DR K-12, funded by the National Science Foundation as a Research and Development Project, addressed the challenge of offering significant STEM content for students to ensure public literacy and workforce readiness. The project's primary purpose was to test the feasibility and effectiveness of a model for establishing four-year…

In December 2007, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave MDRC a grant to conduct reconnaissance on promising strategies to reengage disconnected young people and improve their long-term outcomes. The primary objective of the grant was to identify key leverage points for future investment by government and foundations. MDRC consulted with…

Background: Services employing staff to support people with disability usually provide training in a range of areas including communication and managing challenging behaviour. Given that such training can be costly and time-consuming, it is important to evaluate the evidence presented in support of such programs. Efficacy in clinical practice is…

In the fall of 2009, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded a three-year project proposed by the International Baccalaureate (IB) to demonstrate the feasibility of increasing the participation of minority students and students in poverty in its Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Diploma Programme (DP) in selected school districts in the…

Objective: To test the feasibility of a dissemination strategy to increase faith communities' (FCs) adoption and implementation of a tested dietary intervention. Design: The study was a randomized, controlled trial that took place over a 9-month period. Setting: Seattle, Washington, metropolitan area. Participants: Seven FCs assigned to an…

The Judicial Evaluation Model (recently used by the Bureau for the Education of the Handicapped to investigate feasibility of implementing the Individual Education Program component of PL 94-142) is described in terms of its application in the State of New Jersey. Limitations and potentials are discussed. (JC)

Pursuant to Education Code 66903, the California Postsecondary Education Commission is charged with reviewing and commenting on the need for new academic programs at California's public colleges and universities and with making recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor. In September 2006, the Commission considered a proposal to establish…

A follow-up was made to a feasibility study of the use of computer assisted instruction in teaching basic electronics. The study was designed to obtain additional empirical data, collected in a real time training environment, on the effectiveness of CAI as a teaching method relative to the conventional mode of instruction (CI). Four specific…

Describes the French-English version of the SYSTRAN machine translation system, used by the Commission of European Communities, and an evaluation study which examined the quality, cost, and weaknesses of the system. The study concluded that this type of system is useful for "pretranslation" and "rough" translation only. (AM)

After years of successful experimental grading of student essays by computer, it was necessary to design and test certain meta-strategies for automatic use in American secondary schools. First, schools were divided into four subject-matter fields (science, social studies, English, and foreign language) and three grade-levels (7-8, 9-10, 11-12).…

The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of a pilot element of a statewide delivery system for career education as a method for preparing secondary teachers to be effective agents of world of work economic education information dissemination and attitudinal change. The primary objectives were: (1) To develop a pilot element…

Discusses ways program administrators can do a better job of justifying their curricula in light of high costs and limited enrollments. Describes procedures used at Community College of Philadelphia for assessing new programs (the comprehensive feasibility study) and determining the success of existing programs (the academic audit). (DMM)