Planning HRD Interventions; What,Why, and How

There is a large body of literature on the instructional design process but little information about the planning practices of Human Resource Development (HRD) practitioners, those who may be devising training or organization development interventions. This article describes qualitative research conducted on the planning processes of five experienced HRD practitioners. Results indicate that subjects had similar mental models of the planning process, portraying the general framework as: a) discerning the desired outcomes, b) understanding the current situation, and c) designing a process to meet the needs. They characterized the planning process as holistic and iterative, involving the use of scenarios, and paradoxical in nature. This paper will identify how the subjects' values, beliefs, and principles of practice influenced their planning. It will also describe techniques used by the subjects to enhance their planning, which involved activating internal resources (prior experience), seeking external resources (reading, talking to others), and tapping into their subconscious for insights or answers. Implications for education, practice, and further research on the planning practices of HRD practitioners will be proposed.     

Dynamic behaviour of soils used for natural turf sports surfaces

The modulus and damping properties of soils in compression are a function of soil type, water content, stress history and loading rate. To model human–surface interaction with natural turf sports surfaces, stiffness and damping properties must be determined at dynamic loading rates. Two contrasting soil types, a Sand and a Clay Loam, commonly used in sports surfaces were loaded uniaxially to 2 kN at loading rates between 0.6 and 6 kN s⁻¹ in modified dynamic soil testing apparatus. Soils were compacted prior to loading but initial cycles resulted in viscoplastic deformation, with strain accumulation with repeated cycles of loading. Ultimately a resilient, viscoelastic steady-state equilibrium with loading was established. Resilient modulus and damping ratio varied with soil type, water content, stress history and increased significantly with loading rate. The resilient modulus of the Sand soil, typical of modern free-draining sand construction natural turf sports surfaces, was significantly greater than that of a Clay Loam soil more characteristic of traditional natural turf surfaces; reducing water content caused an increase in modulus and a decrease in damping ratio in the Clay Loam soil. Determination of these properties provides initial data for the modelling natural turf surface behaviour in terms of both ball and human interactions, with further research required to determine the effect of both grass roots and leaves on mechanical behaviour.     

Examining the effects of a highly rated science curriculum unit on diverse students: Results from a planning grant

This article reports on the results of a planning grant studying the effects of a highly rated curriculum unit on a diverse student population. The treatment was introduced to 1500 eighth grade students in five middle schools selected for their ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity. Students were given pre‐, post‐, and delayed posttests on a Conservation of Matter Assessment and measures of motivation and engagement. This quasi‐experiment found statistically significant posttest results for achievement, basic learning engagement, and goal orientation. Analyses of disaggregated data showed that subgroups of students in the treatment condition outscored their comparison group peers (n = 1500) in achievement in all cases, except for students currently enrolled in ESOL. Analysis of video data of a diverse group of four students as the unit was enacted suggests that students entered a learning environment that permitted them to function in different, but consistent ways over time; that is, the frequency of students' manipulation of objects showed a different pattern of engagement for each of the four students compared with patterns of verbal responses such as the use of scientific terms. The results of this planning grant paved the way for a large study of the scale‐up of highly rated curriculum units. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 912–946, 2005     

The "Millennium Intent": A Case Study in Assuring Quality International Standards for Educating Healthcare Professionals

Given the increasing globalization of healthcare services, the need to develop standards for international credentialing has arisen and has become an increasingly topical subject. A case example is presented of an effort under way, the so-called "Millennium Intent", to create an agreement between non-governmental national certification agencies in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States for the mutual recognition of the professional education and the credentials of speech/language pathologists. The insights gained and the principles developed have applicability in other healthcare fields.     

Third-Grade Students Investigate and Represent Data

Results of a collaborative project between two mathematics education faculty, a third-grade teacher, and her beginning third-grade students are presented. The purpose of this project was to collect information from these students as they thought through how to ask, collect, and then answer their own data-driven questions. These young students exhibited a growing understanding, sophistication, and comfort with the use and application of data and data terminology as they developed their strategies for collecting, analyzing, and presenting their results.     

Infusion of Multicultural Issues in Curricula: A Student Perspective

To explore perceptions of the impact of a multicultural infusion project, current and former university students described classroom incidents that had strengthened their understanding of multiculturalism. They discussed why these incidents increased their multicultural awareness and how their interactions with others were changed. Participants described 155 incidents. These were sorted into 18 categories of pedagogical techniques and classroom composition or dynamics that promoted multicultural awareness. Former students reported that addressing multicultural issues in courses had a long-term impact on knowledge, attitudes, and professional skills. However, such benefits were not specific to classes that had been targeted for curriculum revision.