Robert M. Hashway

As the technological demands of a rapidly changing society impact the training needs of the industrial sector, mechanisms for identifying learner strengths as well as weaknesses are needed to optimize the training process. In addition, there is a need for processes for evaluating the effectiveness of programs focused on the developmental needs of learners. Traditional measures, such as norm-referenced paradigms, do not meet the criteria established for developmental assessment. This book will provide the technical details needed to construct instruments as well as evaluate programs using a recently developed technique called item response theory, which meets the criteria for developmental assessment.

This comprehensive handbook has brought together the leading practitioners and researchers in the field of developmental education to focus on the developmental learning agenda. This work advocates a process approach to education where learners were characterized in terms of specific behavioral areas. Learning style differences are recognized, along with the premise that learning occurs at different rates. Alternative learning settings like industrial education centers and alternative learning centers provide a focus, for which lifelong learning is viewed as a matter of survival for American employees and employers.Handbook of Developmental Education begins with a description of the developmental process as a holistic approach to the development of the whole person. The emotional state of the individual is of critical importance. Curriculum theory is addressed, followed by information on learning centers and human factors research. Educators and educational researchers will find a wealth of material in this volume.

Foundations of Developmental Education provides a conclusive alternative to the traditional oversimplification of the pervasive education problem in the United States. Hashway chronicles the decline of education in the U.S. over the past fifty years and studies the factors that have supposedly affected the quality of education. Analyzing the educational system, Hashway provides sound recommendations and alternatives for the delivery of instructional services.The book begins with a thorough analysis of the developmental learning system followed by a case study. An overview of psychocybernetic models of thinking is then presented. Finally, the author examines educational applications of the developmental learning system.