A Comprehensive Approach to Technology Training for Early Childhood Teachers

This study describes the development and implementation of a comprehensive approach to computer technology training for early childhood teachers. Departing from the singular goal of conveying skills and knowledge, a comprehensive program targets the development of teachers' attitudes and practices as well as knowledge and skills. All 3 areas are regarded as equally important for the development of teacher technology proficiency. Evaluation of the program documented its effectiveness. Compared to nonparticipants, teachers in the training program had significantly higher scores in all 3 goal areas: attitudes, knowledge and skills, and practices. Results of the study indicate that a comprehensive approach is an effective means of training teachers in computer technology. Implications of the study are discussed with regard to the strategy of developing the "whole teacher" and emergence of the domain of educational technology.     

Implementing a Classroom-Based Social Skills Training Program in Middle Childhood

Although social skills training (SST) programs have been shown to improve children's long-term developmental outcomes, school personnel are not typically able to implement such programs. This article outlines the institutional and organizational supports, trainer selection criteria, and the training needed for school counselors to successfully implement and sustain a SST program for children. Social skills programs will only become routine in the classroom if the school setting provides administrative support for skills training, and structures to encourage implementation of SST programs (especially substantial and ongoing training based in the classroom setting). In addition to organizational level considerations, SST trainers need to be socially competent, be able to manage children in small groups, be familiar with the theoretical model underlying the SST program, have the opportunity to practice delivering the program, and have positive attitudes toward delivering the program. The procedures for selecting, training, monitoring, and evaluating school counselors who are SST trainers are described.     

An Integrative Competency-Based Counselor Education Model

In the proposed integrative competence-based counselor education model, the four major areas of counselor training are defined as theory education, skills training, experiential activity, and practicum experience. For each area we suggest specific objectives, possible courses, appropriate methodologies, and directions for evaluation. The formulation of behavioral curriculum goals and the construction of performance criteria for each aspect of the program are essential for the effective implementation of the model. The distinctive contribution of the model lies in its provision of (a) a series of conceptual definitions and objectives, (b) a sound framework for integrating traditionally conflicting counselor education approaches and for systematizing the student's educational experience, (c) a built-in means for the transfer of training to professional placements, and (d) stimulation of research in the many problem areas to be found in counselor education.     

Improving Retail Sales Performance by Integrating HPT with Marketing Strategies

In order to accomplish organizational goals within constraints, marketers need to develop and implement marketing strategies effectively and efficiently. Trainers equipped with human performance technology (HPT) skills and knowledge may contribute substantially to strategy development and implementation and eventually contribute to organizational success. In this article, we demonstrate how HPT improved retail sales performance in an organization in the Chinese telecom industry. The outcomes highlight the benefits of integrating HPT with marketing strategies and the importance of forming partnerships between training staff and marketing professionals.     

Multicultural Training Experiences as Predictors of Multicultural Competencies: Students' Perspectives

The authors surveyed a national sample of master's‐level counseling students regarding their multicultural training experiences and their multicultural counseling competencies. A series of hierarchical regression models tested the prediction of inventoried competencies from measures of selected training experiences: (a) program cultural ambience or learning environment, (b) multicultural instructional strategies, and (c) multicultural clinical experiences. Perceptions of program cultural ambience or learning environment predicted all multicultural competencies: knowledge, skills, awareness, and relationship. Additional findings support the importance of clinical training experiences in the context of effective multicultural training.     

Enlist micros: Training science teachers to use microcomputers

A National Science Foundation grant to the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) at The Colorado College supported the design and production of training materials to encourage literacy of science teachers in the use of microcomputers. ENLIST Micros is based on results of a national needs assessment that identified 22 compentencies needed by K–12 science teachers to use microcomputers for instruction. A writing team developed the 16-hour training program in the summer of 1985, and field-test coordinators tested it with 18 preservice or in-service groups during the 1985–86 academic year at 15 sites within the United States. The training materials consist of video programs, interactive computer disks for the Apple II series microcomputer, a training manual for participants, and a guide for the group leader. The experimental materials address major areas of educational computing: awareness, applications, implementation, evaluation, and resources. Each chapter contains activities developed for this program, such as viewing video segments of science teachers who are using computers effectively and running commercial science and training courseware. Role playing and small-group interaction help the teachers overcome their reluctance to use computers and plan for effective implementation of microcomputers in the school. This study examines the implementation of educational computing among 47 science teachers who completed the ENLIST Micros training at a southern university. We present results of formative evaluation for that site. Results indicate that both elementary and secondary teachers benefit from the training program and demonstrate gains in attitudes toward computer use. Participating teachers said that the program met its stated objectives and helped them obtain needed skills. Only 33 percent of these teachers, however, reported using computers one year after the training. In June 1986, the BSCS initiated a follow up to the ENLIST Micros curriculum to develop, evaluate, and disseminate a complete model of teacher enhancement for educational computing in the sciences. In that project, we use the ENLIST Micros curriculum as the first step in a training process. The project includes seminars that introduce additional skills: It contains provisions for sharing among participants, monitors use of computers in participants' classrooms, provides structured coaching of participants' use of computers in their classrooms, and offers planned observations of peers using computers in their science teaching.     

A Conceptual Model for the Expansion of Behavioral Consultation Training

In this article, a general model and specific program that expand traditional behavioral consultation training are presented. The training program involves five interrelated components: (a) procedural and content skills, (b) role and relationship considerations, (c) entry/systems issues, (d) field-based experience, and (e) peer supervision. As a system, each component is necessary but not sufficient in the development of consulting expertise. Likewise, each component is subsumed by one or more components that encompass this broader framework. A theoretical rationale, model for implementation, and future training and research directions are also presented.     

A Self‐Management Strategy for Increasing Implementation of Behavioural Procedures by Residential Staff

Two preliminary studies explored the use of a self‐management strategy as a component of a training program for residential Child and Family Workers. The self‐management strategy comprised the Correspondence Training procedures of Risley (1977) and the formulation of specific implementation plans (Sanders & Glynn, 1981). Experiment 1 found that prompting staff to formulate plans of how they would implement target behaviour management skills and providing individual feedback on their performance in accordance with their plans resulted in gains in implementation of target skills; no gains in implementation resulted from Instruction and Group Feedback conditions alone. This experiment examined pooled data from 18 staff collected by regular time sampled observations. Experiment 2 introduced similar procedures in a multiple baseline design to four volunteer staff, each of whom selected two target behavioural skills from the training manual. The self‐management strategy resulted in clear gains in implementation of these self‐selected target skills by all four staff. Results are discussed in terms of the potential of the correspondence training paradigm and the formulation of specific implementation plans as an approach to on‐the‐job training of residential staff.     

Manager Coaching Skills: Development and Application

The concept of “manager as coach” is increasingly popular in the management literature as a mechanism for improving employee involvement and performance. This paper summarizes a study to evaluate the effectiveness of a “coaching skills” program for sales managers. The program began with a five–day coaching skills course and was followed by on–the–job activities that called for application of the coaching skills covered in the course. The study used telephone interviews with managers' subordinates to collect data regarding managers' coaching effectiveness prior to the program. Follow–up interviews were conducted three months later. The interviews focused on the eight coaching behaviors identified by Schelling (1991). Quantitative analyses showed statistically significant increases on the follow–up ratings on five of the eight coaching behaviors. Further analysis revealed that subordinates who had not worked with their supervisors long tended to give lower ratings. Additionally, those managers with fewer subordinates often received higher scores on the eight coaching behaviors.     

Counseling Skills Attainment,Retention, and Transfer as Measured by the Skilled Counseling Scale

The purpose of this study was to determine if counseling students acquire counseling skills and transfer those skills to their work with actual clients. Students' skills were measured by the Skilled Counseling Scale at pretest (before training), Posttest 1 (immediately after training), and Posttest 2 (at the end of a master's‐degree program). Eighteen of 19 skills scores showed significant improvement from pretest to Posttest 1, and 15 of 19 skills scores showed significant improvement from pretest to Posttest 2.     

A Comprehensive Approach to Technology Training for Early Childhood Teachers

This study describes the development and implementation of a comprehensive approach to computer technology training for early childhood teachers. Departing from the singular goal of conveying skills and knowledge, a comprehensive program targets the development of teachers' attitudes and practices as well as knowledge and skills. All 3 areas are regarded as equally important for the development of teacher technology proficiency. Evaluation of the program documented its effectiveness. Compared to nonparticipants, teachers in the training program had significantly higher scores in all 3 goal areas: attitudes, knowledge and skills, and practices. Results of the study indicate that a comprehensive approach is an effective means of training teachers in computer technology. Implications of the study are discussed with regard to the strategy of developing the “whole teacher” and emergence of the domain of educational technology.     

Overview of Transfer of Training: From Learning to Performance

This article explores the background, current state, and emerging trends in transfer of training. Transfer of training can be denned as, ensuring full application of new skills and knowledge to the workplace. Typically, past training efforts have focused on ensuring learning by trainees, and not on supporting the transfer of that learning to performance on the job. Today's organizations recognize effective workforce performance as a strategic asset in the global competitive economy but face problems in attaining high performance. Experience of successful organizations shows that key stakeholders (managers, trainers, trainees, and others) must be closely involved in all phases of the design, development, and implementation of training and other performance improvement efforts, to achieve and maintain effective workforce performance. However, both managers and human performance professionals frequently overlook the need to gain stakeholder involvement to support full transfer of new skills to the job. A successful program in a government agency, and recommendations for transfer strategies for technology-based learning, illustrate the collaboration of stakeholders which is necessary to achieve high levels of transfer of skills to the workplace.     

Coaching Sales Performance: A Case Study

Century 21 International, like so many sales organizations, suffered lower productivity and higher attrition from new sales associates than they judged to be acceptable. The answer, Century 21 executives believed, was to develop a twenty-one module, multimedia training program. An external consultant urged them to study the situation prior to committing to any one solution. The results were clear. While new sales people certainly needed to have their field skills “buffed” after going through pre-licensing training and entering the office, that was not their most critical need. Far more important was an in-office support system, someone to tell them how to think through inevitable rejections, how to approach recurring challenges, how to maintain confidence even when sales do not occur, how to prospect portions of the community and how to integrate into the real estate community. The data revealed the need for a solution system comprised of training, incentives, performance support materials, the introduction of a new position, a coach, into each office, and a selection method for that coach. This article describes the front end study, the program, and some of its results in real estate offices across the United States.     

Effective Partnerships in School Reform: Lessons Learned From the Midwest Child-Parent Center Expansion

The Midwest Expansion of the Child-Parent Center Education Program (MCPC) is a pre-K to 3rd grade intervention program aimed at improving economically disadvantaged children's school success by enhancing continuity in instruction and increasing parental involvement. Opened in Chicago in the 1960s, this school reform model has undergone significant changes and is currently being expanded in five demographically heterogeneous school districts in Illinois and Minnesota. This article describes the collaborative process that has contributed to effective implementation of the expansion project within at-risk communities. Three themes of collaboration are emphasized: (a) improving the quality of data, (b) establishing and maintaining implementation fidelity, and (c) using research to inform practice. We discuss lessons learned from our partnerships with a number of collaborators including those involved with implementing the pre-K program, researching and evaluating the project, and providing professional development to teachers. Consideration is given to advancing the field of implementation science by successfully initiating and enhancing exemplary partnerships in comprehensive school reforms through effective research design.     

Early Training in Oral Comprehension and Phonological Skills: Results of a Three-Year Longitudinal Study

A sample of 1,273 4-year-old children were followed for 3 years. The children participated in 1 of 2 comprehension training programs, or in a phonological awareness training program. The comprehension programs explored the possibility of improving young children's oral comprehension in an educational setting. The first focused on the component skills of comprehension; the second involved storybook reading. Phonological awareness and oral language comprehension skills were measured repeatedly in the course of the study. The data were analyzed using multilevel growth-curve models. The results showed that it is possible to improve oral comprehension if the training focuses on its component skills and extends over 2 semesters. When these conditions were met, training effects still existed 9 months after the program had ended. Finally, phonological training improved phonological awareness but not comprehension, and comprehension-skill training improved oral comprehension but not phonological awareness.     

基于5S管理的计量经济学实训教学改革研究

借鉴管理学中的5 S管理方法,在计量经济学实训教学中尝试改革,提出课程的实训内容设计分三个层次：基本技能实训模块、应用技能实训模块和创新技能实训模块,并在实施过程中设计了5 S管理方案.实践结果表明,通过实施5 S管理,学生的学习积极性和课程满意度明显改善,学生完成计量软件上机测试的质量明显提高,学生在近年来毕业论文及参加＂挑战杯＂大学生课外科技竞赛作品中应用计量方法的比例上升.     

Implementation Effects of a Program for the Training of Coaching Skills with School Principals∗

In this study, the implementation effects of a program for the training of coaching skills to Dutch primary school principals are described. Coaching is a form of in‐class support intended to provide teachers with feedback on their own functioning, and thereby to stimulate self‐reflection and self‐analysis in order to improve instructional effectiveness. To assist school principals in their attempts to coach teachers, a training program was designed and evaluated. Based on the pre‐ and post‐training ratings of coaching conferences, a significant treatment effect was found for the coaching skills concerned with the development of autonomy (empowerment), feedback, and agreement on classroom observational goals. The pre‐ and post‐training ratings from the coached teachers themselves showed a significant treatment effect for the coaching skills concerned with the development of improvement plans. Although the training provided for the school principals was directed at the coaching functions of consulting and confronting, the majority of the school principals conducted coaching conferences that emphasized predominantly the function of consulting.

     

The Development and Implementation of a Faculty–Student Collaborative Research Project

Criminal Justice faculty collaborated with undergraduate and graduate students to evaluate federal probation officers’ use of evidence-based skills following the implementation of a new training program designed to improve officer supervision skills and offender outcomes. The project resulted in the coding of over 100 audio recordings of actual officer–offender interactions based upon a developed assessment instrument. Overall, officers demonstrated high levels of adherence to training program skills. This article describes the process used to form a faculty–student collaborative research project and the benefits, challenges, and recommendations for similar projects at other institutions.     

An interactive training programme for beginning faculty: issues of implementation

The evaluation of a first step implementation of an interactive training program for beginning faculty is presented. The training program is based on the principles of full recognition of the subjective theory of the faculty and establishing an equal relationship between the faculty and the trainer.To evaluate the actual implementation of the model questionnaires on the implementation of the two principles, participants’ reactions to the training and fulfilment of expectations towards the training were used. The results of the training are assessed with questionnaires on the learning of the participants, their expected use of knowledge and skills, their expected development and a pre and post measurement of instructional beliefs. The results show that the interactive model of faculty training was implemented and seems appropriate for training beginning faculty. The goals of the training were attained, except for directional change in instructional beliefs of the faculty. It is hypothesised that global changes in instructional beliefs can only be measured after a longer period.     

Social skills interventions across school settings: Case study reviews of students with mild disabilities

This study investigates the efficacy of a social skills training program with seven mildly handicapped students across three school settings: regular classroom, special education resource room, and recess. It was found that social skills training generated improvement on both pre-post measures and behavior ratings. Improvements were maintained 2 weeks after treatment was discontinued for seven students. All students' performance generalized from resource room to regular classroom settings; only four students' performance generalized to the recess setting.