On-the-Job Training: Prescriptions and Practice

This article discusses the status of workplace training in the United States, describes a model of how to conduct effective on-the-job training, and presents the results of a questionnaire based on a model designed to assess on-the-job training practices aboard Navy ships. The model views the on-the-job trainer as a coach who guides the trainee through a task using three steps: 1) assessment, 2) training, and 3) evaluation. The questionnaire was sent to over 5,000 shipboard supervisors; 2,321 responded. Results indicate that nearly 50% of the Navy supervisors who responded are not as effective as they could be. The implications of these findings for the civilian workplace are discussed.     

Teaching Instructional Design: An Apprenticeship Model

Several cognitive psychologists have written about the importance of placing instruction within “authentic” contexts that mirror real-life situations. They argue that knowledge learned in academic settings does not necessarily transfer to non-academic settings. Whether preparing performance technologists or instructional designers, educators must strive to create meaningful problem-solving contexts that enable students to define, and subsequently solve, real-world problems. In an attempt to address this issue we have modified the way we teach instructional design. This paper discusses a cognitive apprenticeship approach to teaching design, which incorporates elements of modeling, coaching, reflection, articulation, and exploration. We describe how these features are embedded within three phases (orientation, situated training/learning, and exploration) of an introductory instructional design course designed to move our novice designers along a continuum of expertise as they develop and refine their own professional design skills. Although the apprenticeship model described here specifically addresses concerns within the context of preparing instructional designers, we believe that this model can be adapted to address similar issues in the education of performance technologists.     

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum — A Dialogue with Memory

This article describes the author's personal/professional experience in designing the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, a building that must “fit” in the context of the National Mall, express the spirit of the Holocaust, and become a permanent, living memorial. “The [building] did not pose the familiar problem of the container and the contained. This [must be] a building where the contained (the historical exhibition) works on the container (the architectural shell) and where the container has to join with the contained.”     

Role and function of school psychologists, 1992–93: A comparative study

The roles and functions of 52 school psychologists from Iowa and Tennessee were examined. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to test differences between reported time spent on prereferral, assessment, intervention, consultation, and curriculum-based assessment. Significant differences were found for the time spent in all areas. A second one-way MANOVA was used to test the differences between the two groups in reported actual time spent and desired time spent. A significant difference was found for consultation. A third MANOVA was utilized to test the differences between the two groups' desired time spent on the five variables. A significant difference was found for curriculum-based assessment. The results suggest that school psychologists in Tennessee and Iowa occupy different roles. School psychologists in Tennessee reported spending the majority of their time on assessment activities, whereas the Iowa sample balances their time between the five functions. The Iowa role exemplifies alternative functions for school psychologists. The Tennessee role is oriented more toward the refer, test, place model.     

The good behavior game: An investigation of teachers' acceptance

Although shown to be effective, group contingency procedures have been assessed for their acceptability by individuals responsible for implementation in only one empirical study to date (Elliott, Turco, & Gresham, 1987). The present investigation assessed teachers' acceptance of the Good Behavior Game (GBG), an interdependent type of group contingency, in two analogue studies. The GBG was found to be as acceptable as individually based procedures (positive reinforcement and response cost). Neither age of target children, severity of behavior problem, nor the stated rationale for the procedure affected teachers' ratings of acceptability. A positive relationship was found between acceptability and usage for positive reinforcement and the GBG, and between acceptability and effectiveness for all procedures. The results of the present investigations are compared to those of other studies of intervention acceptability.