Steven W. Graham

Introducing the Concept of Performance Support Using the Performance Pyramid

Abstract Organizations today face social, competitive, and technological conditions unlike they have seen before. Within this complex environment, managers and team leaders must get the highest levels of performance from a diverse mix of individuals and groups. Achieving this goal requires a range of performance support strategies and resources that can be applied to various situations. This paper outlines a comprehensive model of performance support that integrates a set of factors leading to optimal performance and significant accomplishments. Referred to as the Performance Pyramid, the model has been an effective means of introducing the notion of performance support to individuals unaccustomed to thinking outside of a training paradigm. Using this model, continuing educators can offer a comprehensive program that focuses on enhancing worker performance to address the needs of their business and agency partners.

Persistence and the Relationship to Academic Performance Measures: A Longitudinal Study.

The persistence rates of community college transfer students were contrasted to those of native university students over a six year period. A general trend was observed which suggested community college transfer students were less likely to persist when returning to school for their second or third semesters of coursework. However, those transfer students remaining for the third semester of coursework were just as likely to persist as the native students for the next semester. Questions were raised about the validity of the notion of “transfer shock”, which may actually be a reflection of the change in the student population being observed.

The Needs and Learning Preferences of Community College Adults: Implications for Program Planning and Marketing

During the most recent decade, attention has focused on the education of adults in both college and business settings. Cross (1981) described three major societal trends which may account for the increased interest and growth in programs that serve adult learners. They are: * A decrease in traditional college-aged students. * Societal changes such as the rising level of education, the changing roles for men and women, and the increase in leisure time. * The knowledge explosion and the technological changes seen in todays workplace. While a considerable amount of research has been conducted on adult learners, very little of the work has focused strictly on adult learners in the community college environment. In fact, most of the foundational work on adult learners has focused on general noncredit adult education conducted in a variety of settings. This study was undertaken to assess the special needs of community college adult learners enrolled in the he variety of programs offered by community colleges. To address the issue, a representative sample of adults aged twenty-three or older was utilized, where the vast majority were either involved or interested in credit courses.

Adult Learners in a Community College Environment: Examining Changes and Trends in Learning Patterns.

The ACT Adult Learner Needs Assessment instrument was utilized to study adult learners interested or enrolled in community colleges. The adults were examined to determine learning style preferences and characteristics and to study learning trends or changes occurring over a four year period. Several statistical differences were observed which have implications for program planning.

Variables Influencing the Likelihood of Practice Change after Continuing Education.

This study was conducted to identify the continuing education (CE) elements nurses believed were most likely to influence their nursing practice and to examine R. Cerveros (1982) comprehensive model of continuing professional education. A total of 344 registered nurses returned questionnaires about CE. Using a researcher-developed 37-item instrument, 12 items were identified as most important in influencing change. The top three items were potential benefit to the patient, perceived value of the proposed change, and extent to which the change addressed a relevant practice problem. A unifying theme among the three items was their strong practice orientation. All four of Cerveros categories (nature of the learner, the CE program, the proposed change, and the social system) were represented in the top 12 items, with items related to the proposed change and the social system rated the highest. A principal components analysis with varimax rotation resulted in five subscales (CE Program, Difficulty in Implementing, Willing and Able, Experience and Education, and Application to Practice) and accounted for 47% of the explained variance in variables influencing the likelihood of practice change. The findings reinforce the usefulness of Cerveros notion of a multivariate framework when studying the relationship between CE and practice change. (Contains 2 tables and 38 references.) (Author/SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

Interpretation and Response to the Changing Nature of Higher Education

Higher education is more complex than most in the academy understand. The purpose of this article is to explore administrator perceptions of the external pressures affecting higher education, the strategies they were using to address the pressures, and the internal barriers to dealing with the pressures successfully. Information comes from twenty-one administrators from nine different institutions (most “comprehensive regional colleges and universities”) with whom we talked.