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Instructional development for training teachers of exceptional children: A sourcebook
Reviews o f S c h o o l Psychological Materials
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implementing and maintaining the program should possess. Proper attention to personal selection and training is of course essential in the implementation of the program. Although Prelect MEMPHIS has been used with the handicapped child in foster homo care, it is a complete package of individualized instruction that can be adapted to a wide range of uses. Because every aspect of the program has been carefully discussed in the materials, it would be feasible to implement the program as designed and to promote the development of the young handicapped child. Karin Taylor Oddsen Appalachia Educational Laboratory Charleston, West Virginia 25325
Thiagarajan, S., Semmel, D. S., & Semmel, M. I. Instructional development for training teachers of exceptional children: A sourcebook. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University, 1974. Pp. 195 $5.00 paper. (Available from the Council for Exceptional Children, Reston, Virginia. The main purpose of this book " . . . is to help the teacher educator use his hard-won expertise to produce instructional modules which can be shared with colleagues for the improvement of the field" (p. vi). The "field" is special education with applicability to related fields such as early childhood education, psychology, etc. The practicing school psychologist or high school counselor will f'md little help in this book, since it is geared primarily to the college or university instructor. But anyone who is interested in finding a sourcebook to assist in designing instructional modules will find some very good guidelines within the covers of this book. After an introductory chapter, the book is divided into four sections called stages. Stage I is characterized as: Stipulating and defining instructional requirements. This stage is broken down into five steps: Front-end analysis, Learner analysis, Task analysis, Concept analysis, and Specifying instructional objectives. Stage II: Design, deals with designing the instructional material. This stage is accomplished through four steps: Constructing criterion-referenced tests. Media selection, Format seleQql~n, and Initial design. Stage Ill: Develop, is modification and refinement of Stage II. The two steps in this stage are: Expert appraisal and Development testin~ Stage IV: Disseminate, concerns finalization of the module through Developmental testing, Validation testing, Packaging and Diffusion, and Adoption. The book is well organized, easy to read, and allows for skipping certain sections. The problem with so many instructional modules is that you cannot skip or fail to complete a certain section, but must follow faithfully each step and sequence as does a rat trained to run a maze. In the section "How to use the sourcebook" the authors state "Skip any chapter for which you have the competencies discussed" (p. I). Although the book is directed toward educators of special educators, other instructots in related fields will find a sonrcebook designed to provide structure and guidelines for developing training modules. Do not think that this book will turn you into an instant instructional module factory. The authors suggest a three-semester period for the development of one small unit. The first semester is spent in trying out the unit, the next is spent in revising, and the third semester is spent in validating the materials. With a great deal of study and work you can produce a module which will benefit your students and, who knows, perhaps even make a contribution to your field. Del Lawhon Appalachian Regional Commission's Special Education Project Appalachian Educational Laboratory Charleston, West Virginia 25325
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implementing and maintaining the program should possess. Proper attention to personal selection and training is of course essential in the implementation of the program. Although Prelect MEMPHIS has been used with the handicapped child in foster homo care, it is a complete package of individualized instruction that can be adapted to a wide range of uses. Because every aspect of the program has been carefully discussed in the materials, it would be feasible to implement the program as designed and to promote the development of the young handicapped child. Karin Taylor Oddsen Appalachia Educational Laboratory Charleston, West Virginia 25325
Thiagarajan, S., Semmel, D. S., & Semmel, M. I. Instructional development for training teachers of exceptional children: A sourcebook. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University, 1974. Pp. 195 $5.00 paper. (Available from the Council for Exceptional Children, Reston, Virginia. The main purpose of this book " . . . is to help the teacher educator use his hard-won expertise to produce instructional modules which can be shared with colleagues for the improvement of the field" (p. vi). The "field" is special education with applicability to related fields such as early childhood education, psychology, etc. The practicing school psychologist or high school counselor will f'md little help in this book, since it is geared primarily to the college or university instructor. But anyone who is interested in finding a sourcebook to assist in designing instructional modules will find some very good guidelines within the covers of this book. After an introductory chapter, the book is divided into four sections called stages. Stage I is characterized as: Stipulating and defining instructional requirements. This stage is broken down into five steps: Front-end analysis, Learner analysis, Task analysis, Concept analysis, and Specifying instructional objectives. Stage II: Design, deals with designing the instructional material. This stage is accomplished through four steps: Constructing criterion-referenced tests. Media selection, Format seleQql~n, and Initial design. Stage Ill: Develop, is modification and refinement of Stage II. The two steps in this stage are: Expert appraisal and Development testin~ Stage IV: Disseminate, concerns finalization of the module through Developmental testing, Validation testing, Packaging and Diffusion, and Adoption. The book is well organized, easy to read, and allows for skipping certain sections. The problem with so many instructional modules is that you cannot skip or fail to complete a certain section, but must follow faithfully each step and sequence as does a rat trained to run a maze. In the section "How to use the sourcebook" the authors state "Skip any chapter for which you have the competencies discussed" (p. I). Although the book is directed toward educators of special educators, other instructots in related fields will find a sonrcebook designed to provide structure and guidelines for developing training modules. Do not think that this book will turn you into an instant instructional module factory. The authors suggest a three-semester period for the development of one small unit. The first semester is spent in trying out the unit, the next is spent in revising, and the third semester is spent in validating the materials. With a great deal of study and work you can produce a module which will benefit your students and, who knows, perhaps even make a contribution to your field. Del Lawhon Appalachian Regional Commission's Special Education Project Appalachian Educational Laboratory Charleston, West Virginia 25325