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INSTITUTIONSPONS AGENCY

PUB DATECONTRACTNOTE

ERRS PRICEDESCRIPTORS

ABSTRACT

DOCUMENT RESUME

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BURDIN, JOEL L.INFORMATION CAPABILITIES NEEDED IN SCHOOL PERSONNELPREPARATION.MICHIGAN STATE UNIV., EAST LANSING.OFFICE OF EDUCATION (DHEW) , WASHINGTON, D.C. BUREAUOF RESEARCH.69OEC.....09..!.320424."4042'..(010)

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EDRS PRICE ME40.25 HC$1.80*COLLEGE ROLE, COLLEGE SCHOOL COOPERATION,INFORMATION CENTERS, INFORMATION SERVICES,*INFORMATION SYSTEMS,, *INTERINSTITGTIONALCOOPERATION, PROFESSIONAL CONTINUING EDUCATION,*'SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT, *TEACHER EDUCATION, TEACHEREDUCATORS

THE UNDERLYING ASSUMPTION OF THIS PAPER IS THAT THECONSTANT PLOW OF INFORMATION INTO ALL LEVELS OF EDUCATION IS A KEY TOEFFORTS TO IMPROVE EDUCATICN, IN GENERAL, AND SCHOOL PERSONNELPREPARATION PROGRAMS, IN PARTICULAR. ITS PURPOSE IS TO DELINEATE SCMEOF THE ISSUES AND ALTERNATIVES IN MEETING IDEA AND INFORMATION NEEDSREOJIEED FOR EFFECTIVE PERSONNEL PREPARATION PROGRAMS, AND TO EXAMINETHEIR PARTICULAR RELEVANCE TO COLLEGIATE INSTITUTIONS. AFTERSUMMARIZING THE RATIONALE FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS, IN GENERAL, THEAUTHOR DEVELOPS THE CONCEPT OF THE COLLEGIATE INFORMATION SYSTEM(INCLUDING ITS VITAL OPERATIONAL BASE--THE INFORMATION SYSTEM CENTER)AND SUMMARIZES A SET CF SPECIFICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ITSEFFECTIVE OPERATION AND UTILIZATION. PARTICULAR EMPHASIS IS PLACED ONTHE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE INFORMATION SYSTEM CENTER AND (1)TRAINEES OF SCHOOL PERSONNEL, AND (2) OTHER INFORMATION SYSTEMS(ESPECIALLY THOSE OPERANT AT THE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT LEVEL, SINCETHEY ARE LIKELY TO BE MOST DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN COLLEGIATE-INITIATEDPREPARATION PROGRAMS, AS WEIL AS IN THE CONTINUING EDUCATION OFINSERVICE PERSONNEL) . ALTHOUGH THE 18 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THIS PAPERMAY BE IMPLEMENTED PERHAPS MORE IMMEDIATELY THAN THCSE OF THEINFORMATION CCMPONENT OF THE MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY ELEMENTARYTEACHEh EDUCATION MODEL, THE AUTHOR RECOMMENDS THAT THE LATTER BECONSIDERED CAREFULLY IN OVERALL UNIVERSITY PLANNING OF INFORMATIONSYSTEMS. INCLUDED WITH THE DOCUMENT ARE LISTINGS OF VARIOUSINFORMATION-RELATED SERVICES AND A MANUAL DESCRIBING THE OPERATION OFThE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC). (AUTHOR/JES)

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Feasibility Study

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE TEACHEREDUCATION PROGRAM

Michigan State University

tin00

INFORMATION CAPABILITIES NEEDED IN SCHOOLPERSONNEL PREP TION

Joel L. Burdin

Associate Secretary, American Association ofColleges for Teacher Education; Director

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)Clearinghouse on Teacher Education,

Washin ton D.C.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE

Office of Education Bureau of Research

(Grant No. 0E0-0-9-320424-4042 (0104

POSITION PAPER

Project No. 320424

Contract No. OEC-079-320424-4042 (010)

FEASIBILITY STUDYBEHAVIORAL SCIENCE TEACHER

EDUCATION PROGRAM

INFORMATION CAPABILITIES NEEDED IN SCHOOLPERSONNEL PREPARATION

Joel L. Burdin

Associate Secretary, American Association ofColleges for Teacher Education; Director

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)Clearinghouse on Teacher Education,

Washington, D.C.

College of EducationCollege of Home EconomicsCollege of Arts and Letters

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University College

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITYEast Lansing, Michigan

December 31, 1969

The research reported herein was performed pursuant to a contract withthe, Office of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education,, and Welfare.Contractors undertaking such projects under Government sponsorship areencouraged to express freely their professional judgment in the conductof the project. Points of view or opinions stated do not, therefore,necessarily represent official Office of Education position or policy.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE

Office of EducationBureau of Research

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INFORMATION CAPABILITIES NEEDEDIN SCHOOL PERSONNEL PREPARATION

Joel L. Burdin

Associate Secretary, American Association ofColleges for Teacher Education; Director

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)Clearinghouse on Teacher Education, Washington D.C.

Introduction

Several problems exist when information servicesare not adequate or used effectively. Too much time is spentin efforts to identify and secure ideas and information, ofteninappropriate or unsatisfactory, by trainers of school person-nel and by preservice and in-service personnel themselves. Thisinefficiency curtails time which could be better spent insynthesizing, interpreting, and implementing activities basedon good information systems and services. Further, too muchtime elapses between the creation of exploding new inventionsand testing, improving, and adapting them in appropriate places.Also, much needless repetition, in contrast to soundly con-ceived replication, occurs when there is too little communi-cation of research and practice throughout the education commu-nity. Then, too, decisions are made without benefit of rele-vant, timely, researched and tested, feasible, and sound per-spectives and data.

This paper briefly delineates some of the issues andalternatives in meeting idea and information needs required foreffective personnel preparation programs. Primarily it is focusedon collegiate institutions; it also treats information relative toother agencies, institutions, organizations, and enterprises in-volved in school personnel preparation programs.

The basic assumptions undergirding this paperare:

1. School personnel trainers must demonstrate the necessity forand utility of a sound information system as a Means of

1

vitalizing learning for themselves and others.

2. Preservice school personnel must learn to master the useof effective information systems.

3. In-service personnel who have come to recognize theindispensability of comprehensive information systems willcontinue to use them for continuous regeneration of philos-ophy, theory, knowledge, and technique.

4. Those using outside data will be more likely to seekinnovative improvements than are their colleagues who aredependent on in-staff sources of ideas and information.

5. A collegiate staff has a major role in developing com-prehensive information capabilities on campus and in otherplaces to promote effective preservice and in-service pre-paration programs and service to educational consumers.

School personnel and their trainers are differen-tiated from laymen, including students, by specializedknowledge, competencies and attitudes. Communications area basic process in which these professional specialties aredeveloped at valid proficiency levels. The process requirescontinuous input and regeneration. Without updating, thespecializations quickly become obsolete and irrelevant ina fast-changing world.

Access to and utilization of an effective informa-tion system is important at the preservice level, where uti-lization must become habitual and meaningful, and at thein-service level where lifelong growth must occur. Teachertrainers on campus and wherever they work with school person-nel must through work and action contribute to the develop-ment of information systems, promote their effectiveness,and encourage sound utilization. The constant flow of in-formation into all levels of education is a key to effortsto improve education in general and school personnel pro-grams in particular.

A Comprehensive Active InformationSystem for Preparation Programs

Rather than being dispensers of knowledge in thelecture-recite-test tradition, collegiate school personneltrainers are communicators. This means two-way interactionbetween those who have some worthwhile ideas to communicate

r.

and the receivers-utilizers. The latter group must beactively involved in the process and be encouraged to expressfelt needs and communications strategies. Changed behavior,broadly conceived, is the ultimate proof of success ineducational communication.

The same generalization holds also for schoolsystem personnel concerned with preservice and in-servicepreparation programs and instructional improvement. Schoolsystems must be a part of comprehensive information systemsif they are to attain their potentialities. Such involve-ment is necessary in staff development as well as for in-struction for primary through graduate levels.

The interdependence of communications and infor-mation systems is a basic consideration. The former makesthe latter significant. The latter makes the former opera-tional in meeting needs. Both must be comprehensive inconception and utility implementation.

Communication is a process of interaction. Ob-viously, there are many people involved in dynamic communi-cation which makes ideas and information personally meaning-ful. Information and ideas available to all interactingparties can provide a framework for communication and actionas well as create readiness for it.

Dispensing ideas and information to passivestudents long was a commonly held view of teaching. Thestudent task was to listen, memorize, recite, and take testsat prescribed performance levels. This kind of teaching-learning process placed a premium on stabilized and legiti-mized knowledge. It was possible to contain knowledgeih a few books, the mastery of which indicated both knowledgeand intellectual capability transferable to other learningsituations. Clearly, it is not possible to hold this view-point in today's world: a) Americans of all ages rejectpassive acceptance of prescribed knowledge. b) Knowledgeand ideas become obsolete. c) The times require interactionof people, information, and ideas; this process has lastingvalue in a changing world.

In contrast to static idea-information dispensingmeans and methods, contemporary information systems must:

1. Be capable of identifying, securing, evaluating, ab-stracting and indexing, storing and retrieving, interpreting,and applying ideas and information for particular persons inspecific situations, for targeted purposes

3

2. Provide both form and substance which encourage dynamicinteraction between men relative to their intellectual tools.(The teacher's unique tools are ideas and information; theuse of an information system is a basic tool. The learner'sbasic task is learning how to use ideas and information; aninformation system is his "bank," from which he should drawfreely and frequently)

3. Permit exchange between different kinds of systems ofinformation storage and retrieval, for example, computerizedand non-computerized libraries and information analysiscenters

4. Provide for expansion or adaption to meet changing needsand conditions

5. Permit continual updating of ideas and information inthe data bank and communication of changes to users

6. Facilitate awareness of the current content in data bank

7. Enlarge the user's capabilities by providing summaries,gyntheses, and interpretations derived from the data bank

8. Contribute to the body of knowledge by commissioningpapers, bibliographies, and directories to fill existinggaps and complement existing ideas and information

9. Encourage practitioners, researchers, and other usersto stimulate improvements in the system itself and in thequality and quantity of the data bank.

Preparation programs require cooperation of manyindividuals in various kinds of information gathering anddisseminating roles and places. The concept of a "one-stop

'information center" is useful here. Developed by Burchinal,the concept goes beyond passive collection of data and docu-ments. Burchinal advocates information centers with severaldistinct capabilities and characteristics:

1. Familiarity with organized sources of knowledge pertit-nent to the field

1Lee G. Burchinal, "ERIC and the Dissemination of ResearchFindings," Theory Into Practice, April 1967, p. 83; "Needed:One-Stop Information Centers, Educational Researcher,Supplement, 1967, pp.8-9.

4

2. Knowledge of information which can be secured fromvaried sources as well as specific data concerning timerequired to secure information, its format, and its cost

3. Assistance to user in translating his concepts andquestions in such a way that he can interact with variousinformation systems

4. Familiarity with user needs and communications linksleading to transmission of those needs to informationsystems

5. Linkage with different kinds of information systems tocapitalize on their varied specialities and assets

6. Linkages of information processors, researchers, train-ers, and change agents a "community of interest" leadingto an articulation of interlocking concerns

7. Development of training programs and materials to pre-pare individuals for change-agent roles

Burchinal discusses one-stop information centersfrom a perspective broader than school personnel preparation.However, his concepts as adapted above are sound in thelimited perspective broader than school personnel preparation.However, his concepts as adapted above are sound in thelimited perspective of this paper. A collegiate InformationSystem Center (ISC), linked functionally with other infor-mation systems, can do much to provide trainers with ideaand information tools needed to bring about imperative changes.2

A government panel defines Information AnalysisCenters in a manner which emphasizes how broadly informationservices are viewed in this paper:

An information analysis center is a formallystructured organizational unit specifically(but not necessarily exclusively) establishedfor the purpose of acquiring, selecting, storing,retrieving, evaluating, analyzing, and synthe-sizing a body of information and/or data ina clearly defined specialized field or pertain-ing to a specified mission with the intent

2This paper proposes the ISC title to emphasize the functionof the Center in relation to all information centers whichnow exist and which should be supplemented by special centerfunctions.

of compiling, digesting, repackaging, orotherwise organizing and presenting pertinentinformation and/or data in a form mostauthoritative, timely, and usefu; to asociety of peers and management.

The ultimate goal of an effective informationcenter for school personnel trainers should be to makeavailable to each individual that information and thoseideas in a form and at a time needed to help him to preparepreservice and in-service school personnel. An informationcenter catering primarily to collegiate personnel would bedifferent from one serving local district personnel train-ers. A center serving state education department personnelwould likewise be unique. Wherever located, an informationcenter should meet special needs of its users, through itsown activities and through functional linkages with otherinformation centers and services. Each should support andsupplement the others. Collegiate information centers, atthe very center of new knowledge generation and involved innational generation networks, have special roles in stimu-lating other centers and assisting them.

Information system centers for school personneltrainers have much in common with information centers ingeneral. Le Baron identifies four specific kinds of dataneeded to implement comprehensive efforts to develop soundpreparation programs. Like the Michigan State Universitymodel for preparing elementary school teachers (BehavioralScience Elementary Teacher Education Program) as well asmany other proposals the LeBaron preparation model issystems oriented .4 the steps, each requiring sound data,include: a) description of present situation relative to thesociety and school staff roles; b) required changes andpotential problems in implementation; c) definition ofproblem solving processes and needed resources; d) develop-ment of evaluation and feedback.

LeBaron advocates four specific kinds of informa-tion in effective program development.5

3Federal Council for Science and Technology, Committee onScientific and Technical Information% Directory of Federal-

ly Supported Information Analysis Centers Washington, D.C.:

e Counci , pri 19 8 . 196 p. Her ert B. Landua, Docu-

ment Dissemination (Philadelphia: Auerback Corp., 1969) p.9.

4Walt LeBaron, AISstelsAREnITIllotheOrganization ofTeacher Training E eriences (Santa Monica, Calif: Systems

Development Corpora) ion, February, 1969) p.8.

LeBaron, pp.

6

. 4, 117 ;.:0.

1. Input information Information on the prospective person-nel'i176TeriTiaTallgto succeed in terms of the programsrequirements, intellectually, socially, emotionally, andpersonally. Analysis of limitations and prescriptions forimprovement. Evaluation of all experiences in relation topreparations for improvement. Evaluation of all experiencesin relation to preparation program

2. Background information Continuous analysis of the schoolsetting, liETle school personnel will function, to providepreparation program input

3. Process information Information on progress being madeby each individual and by groups of individuals, relativeto program objectives and adjustments made to improve success

4. Output information Data on performance of each "graduate"of aspects of programs which contributed to success (Thiscould provide important input for future efforts towardimprovement of programs)

This kind of information should be readily avail-able in the collegiate training staff's immediate offices orin its Information System Center (described in more detaillater). It is obvious that extensive cooperation of stateeducation agencies and local school districts is necessaryif much useful information is to be available to supplementcollegiate data gathering efforts.

Collegiate Information System ForSchool Personnel Prfgaration

Each collegiate teacher trainer must be a scholar,researcher, and practitioner. His needs for effective infor-mation systems are therefore extensive and urgent.

1. Since his specialization is likely to be in flux at alltimes, he needs ideas and information continuously. Like-wise, his needs are affected by new implications and appli-cations of his specialization.

2. Since he is a producer of knowledge, he needs to knowwhat others have done and are doing. This can stimulateideas and help him to avoid unnecessary repetition in hisresearch, experimentation, and writing.

3. Since he is a practitioner, he needs fresh input to con-vert into lecture and discussion materials, reading lists,instructional techniques, and various kinds of student re-search projects, and learning assessment activities. Asa practitioner, he is active in analyzing, synthesizing, andinterpreting ideas and information into thinking, learning,and instructional tools for preservice and in-service schoolpersonnel.

4. Since he performs these and other complex roles, he isa user of the many disciplines from which education draws.He acquires not only the knowledge but also the processesand skills of those disciplines. He requires processedideas and information to help him interpret and apply thevarious disciplines to his tasks.

The collegiate trainer could maintain his owninformation system and conduct his own searches of that sys-tem. However, if he did this adequately, his other workwould suffer. An effective information system providestechnical services, thus freeing the trainer for professionalroles. Such a system eliminates tedious and nonproductiveinformation searches and provides a comprehensive bank fromwhich to draw. Standardized search tools and techniquesincrease the probability that only the most relevant docu-ments and aids will be identified.

Components of an effective collegiate informationsystem for school personnel preparation are common. Aspecific place is needed to bring together informationspecialists. Such persons could integrate existing compo-nents into the system and supplement them. Here are someillustrations of applications of this concept. The Centerstaff should be able, to use:

1. Library collections, both central and departmental

Card catalog collection on books selected by the educationfaculty

Research in Education, to serve as a search tool for Educa-tional Resources Information Center (ERIC) microfiche collec-tion in main university library

CurrentIndetaglaWatim. to serve as asearch tool for ERIC-processed journals and yearbooks, aswell as other guides such as Education Index

Standard reference works commonly used by educators, such asDissertation Abstracts, Psychological Abstracts, and Sociolog-ical Abstracts.

2. Computer center

On-line access to the computer, for example, tapes con-taining the total ERIC collection or access to other infor-mation centers, enabling continued query until exact infor-mation is found

Software packages developed in the Information System Centeror elsewhere to provide query capabilities

Coordinate indexing development and maintenance for allresources stored in any component of the university system,to permit highly targeted search capabilities

3. Audiovisual services

Catalogs of audio-visual aids in local collections and thoselocated elsewhere

Coordinate indexing system for the aids

4. Education staff newsletter

Bibliographic citations of new materials, where available(on campus or elsewhere), index terms from ERIC Thesaurus,and where feasible abstracts (to provide useful information,to stimulate use of available materials, and to provideclues to needed university acquisitions)

The Information System Center should provideseveral services on its own. A few examples will suffice.Useful for writers and researchers, it should identify use-ful index terms, use various search tools to identify docu-ments and materials, and provide useful bibliographic anddescriptive data. For teachin rofessors, it should con-duct searches targete on eveloping rea ing lists andidentifying related materials for lectures and discussions.For clinical professors, it should provide comparable servic-es in elementary-secondary teaching and learning.

The Information System Center should serve commit-tees and councils such as those responsible for curriculumrevision and research coordination. Such service could in-clude: a) provision of information requested, b) suggestionsfor committee study topics, c) selected annotated biblio-graphies. Such service would free time of personnel train-ers to concentrate on the utilization of knowledge.

Training student and staff to be information con-sumers should be a vital Center role. Training approachesshould include programmed materials, mediated practice

materials, and staff assistance. Consultative assistanceshould be provided persons such as those teaching researchmethods, library staffs and school district in-service educa-tion directors (that is, persons who teach others to useinformation systems).

Facilitating computer directed instruction andcomputer assisted instruction should be another vital Centerrole. The Center staff should consult with the educationfaculty in determining what data should be secured andstored in the computer center. The data would include theusual personal data, test results, acceptable performancelevels for instructional modules, and record of progress.The Center should assist the instruction staff in develop-ing its computer directed instruction as well as its computerassisted instruction. The latter could occur outside theCenter itself since it is not feasible to have separateequipment of this kind in the education facility.

The Center staff should also provide assistancein evaluating individual preservice and in-service schoolpersonnel and the total preparation program. Built-inassessment capabilities are desirable for several reasons,including program improvement.

Personnel needed in a major university include:a) regular Center staff, b) other university staff with someCenter duties, c) consultants. The regular Center staffshould include a director and two assistant directors. Oneassistant should be responsible for document acquisitionsand evaluation, information synthesis and interpretation,and user relations. The second assistant should serve asCenter manager and as such direct technical operations.Other professional personnel should include informationanalysts, communications specialists, instructional materi-als development specialists, programmers, and processingspecialists. Secretarial and clerical supporting staffshould be available, on a ratio of the equivalency of twopersons for each professional staff.

Non-Center personnel should include members ofcurriculum and research committees--who should be consti-tuted as a policy-level advisory committee. Other facultypersonnel should be utilized on the basis of unique contri-butions. Outside consultants should be used in specializedroles and in general assessment activities. Preservice andin-service personnel should be included in advisory groups.

Facilities and equipment for an information centerare largely comparable to those in typical collegiate set-tings. Privacy is important to all the professional staff.

10

Much space is needed particularly in the processing ofdocuments. Some study areas for users should be provided(but not approaching the general library's capacities).In addition to generpl, office equipment, the Center shouldhave on-line computer terminals and some key-punch equipment,microfiche reader-printers, microfiche readers, photocopyingequipment (for in-house and user service), and limited pro-jection equipment (for instructional use and for analyzingmediate materials).

The basic requirements for establishing a colle-giate Information System Center, are personnel, space, andcommonly available equipment and materials. None of theseresources is inexpensive. However, the inefficient use ofexisting personnel and resources is poor economy; it isunwise to have preparation programs carried out by per-sonnel and programs developed without sound informationsystems.

Relationships to Other Information Systems

The collegiate Information System Center alsoshould serve and receive input from off-campus informationcenters and services. Increasingly, much of school personnelpreparation is conducted in local districts early in thepreservice program--for example, in preprofessional labora-tory experiences--and continues for a lifetime--in formaland informal in-service programs. Local school districtsneed assistance in operating information systems capableof promoting effective preservice and in-service programs.Information systems operating by various other agencies,organizations, and enterprises deserve considerable atten-tion, but assisting the local school district's informationwill receive special attention in this paper: a) Inputfrom other information systems is likely to be made intothe collegiate system and should be shared with school dis-tricts. b) The local school district is more likely to beinvolved directly in collegiate-initiated preparation pro-grams and is likely to require collegiate aid in maintainingan effective information system.

The interrelationships of the collegiate andlocal school district information centers should be placedin the context of promoting effective preparation programs.

1. The district provides many early laboratory experienceswhich can help preservice personnel to blend an understand-

11

ing of theory, knowledge, skills, and practices.

2. The district takes up--for a lifetime--where thecollegiate program to a large extent terminates.

3. The quality and quantity of district preservice andin-service personnel preparation programs are a consequencein large measure of the ki,nds of ideas and informationcommunicated by collegiate personnel to district personnel.

4. District resources are spread too widely--primarily forinstruction and services to elementary-secondary-adultlevels--to permit the maintenance of extensive informationservices needed to promote change in the preservice and in-service personnel. Therefore, collegiate information specialists and collegiate staff personnel serviced by thecollegiate Information System Center must help the districtto develop a local center, train personnel to operate it,provide it with pertinent documents and data, and securefrom it data for collegiate use. Without such involvement,theik

quality of district-directed personnel preparation islely to be inadequate. Collegiate-directed objectives arelikely to break down at the application level in the schools.

The impact of outside stimuli on school districtchange agents has been studied extensively. Haubrich re-views four principles established by Griffith; and threestress the efficacy of outside intervention--"the major im-petus for change." Haubrich in closing his monographstresses the necessity of giving priority to those prepara-tion programs with built-in collegiate-school district colla-boration relative to: a) field testing and research compo.nents b) re-education of leaders who control school districts,c) course work based on diagnoses of school difficulties.°Haubrich clearlyproposed steps which require two-way commun-ications. If outside forces are to have impact, informationand idea must be relevent and valid, with data provided byboth collegiate and school district information systems.

6Vernon Haubrich, Design and Default in Teacher Education,(Washington, D.C.: American Association of Colleges orTeacher Education, March 1968) Reference to Daniel Griff-iths, "Administrative Theory and Change in Organizations,"in Innovation in Education, Edited by Matthew B. Miles (NewYork: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, ColumbiaUniversity, 1964.) pp. 425-36, pp. 24-25.

The importance of outside intervention to stimulate dis-trict change can be seen in data secured by the Far West Laboratoryfor Educational Research and Development. 7 The study found that in-formation sources in local districts tend to be colleagues, and thecommunications tend to be informal. The collegiate-based "outsider"with sound ideas and information can make an impact if he can reachlocal change agents, who in turn can transmit data to their colleagues.

The Far West Laboratory also notes that print materialsare not within the five most commonly used data gathering means.Conjectured reasons include: a) necessity for time and activity,b) difficulty in ascertaining credibility and reliability.8 Areasonable conjecture is that information centers staffed withtrusted individuals capable of relating data to local situationsmight be able to increase acceptance of outside input. Such centerscould also help local district staffs in overcoming perceived diffi-culties in using outside data, for example, interpreting statisticaldata, understanding procedures for getting information, and resolvingconflicting data from different data sources.

Collegiate relationship with local district change agentsand local information specialists should produce idea and informationdissemination which permits varied responses by school personnelall of which should improve preservice and in-service preparationprograms:

1. General updating of information on broad and specific fieldsof education in relation to societal and world conditions

2. Studies in considerable depth in order to participate in buildingor system level activities

3. Intensive re-tooling to eliminate weaknesses uncovered in facultyself-study or to work toward new school-wide objectives and strategies

7M.H. Chorness, C. H. R. Henhouse, and R. C. Heald, Decision Processesand Information Needs in Education (Berkeley, Calif.: Far West

Laboratoryfor Educational Research and Development, 1969,) p. 10.

9Ibid pp. 49-50.Ibid, p. S9.

13

4. Intensive re-tooling in preparation for major changes in class-room objectives, content, or strategies

5. Intensive study to prepare for an action research project

6. Intensive study to prepare for participation in controlled re-search conducted by specialists

The rationale and justification for collegiate involve-ment is that preparation programs are being conducted increasingly inthe field. That being the case, collegiate staffs must effectivelyreach local district personnel with personally meaningful ideas andinformation which can contribute to behavioral changes. Such changesshould be compatible with soundly conceived collegiate programs. Thedesirable state of affairs is at hand when preparation programs andthe elementary-secondary programs are compatible with the needs ofstudents and the larger society.

The university Information System Center should providecertain services to systems beyond the campus and collaborating schooldistricts. As prime generators of ideas and information and majorusers as well, the university has a major stake in sound informationsystems. Presently there is inadequate coordination of efforts,needless duplication of activities, gaps in capabilities and services,and lack of compatibility in indexing, storing, and retrieving. Theuniversity Center should play an important role in organizing univer-sity efforts to stimulate improvements in information systems. Severalsystems need university input, stimulation, and services:

1. State education agency information sntcLm

Preparation of staffs

Copies of university produced documents

Evaluation of services

Stimulation of cooperating school district personnel to use servicesand contribute data to the state information center

2. Interstate information systems

General exchange of data and services

Exchange of ideas

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3. U.S. Office of Education, National Center forEducational Statistics

Assistance to university in collecting and storing data ina form compatible with the national system

Occasional analyses and repackaging of ideas securedthrough the system

4. Educational Resources Information Center..(ERIC)

Transmission of documents to appropriate clearinghouse--orif Bureau of Research funded, to the Bureau, which trans-mits documents to the system

Utilization of services and products

Assessment of services and products

Suggestions for needed monographs, bibliographies, anddirectories

Assistance in developing such materials

Training of university staff relative to ERIC

Inclusion of functional instruction in the use of thesystem in preservice and in-service programs (e.g. use ofthe instructional materials in ERIC prepared by the ERICClearinghouse on Teacher Education)

Other systems could be mentioned, but the basicpoint has been illustrated: the university has roles inmany information systems. Just as it has generated know-ledge and stimulated its use through book storage, theuniversity should develop a comparable commitment to infor-mation systems.

Dissemination capabilities of information systemscan be broadened through the use of the mass media. Theuniversity Information System Center should stimulate aware-ness of modern information service capabilities among news-men and journal personnel. The Center should also pro-vide them with assistance in tapping various informationservices. The mass media can do much to translate ideasand information into meaningful terms to laymen. The crea-tion of public support for sound school personnel prepara-tion, and education in general, should be a major Centerobjective.

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Recommendations

Implementation of the following recommendations wouldmove a university in the direction of having a dynamic, comprehensiveinformation systems center. Such a center could do much to vitalizeinstruction and help carry out more effectively several existingand emerging roles and responsibilities.

1. The university should conduct a comprehensive study of its in-formation capabilities and deficiences and initiate steps to establisha college of education administrative unit to coordinate staff utili-zation of existing, viable information services; to establish addi-tional ones; and to conduct training activities for school personneltrainers where needed to promote effective school personnel prepara-tion programs. A broadly-based advisory group should guide theoperation of the center, which has been called an Information SystemsCenter in this monograph.

2. University teaching-learning processes should be undergirded bythe inquiry process, making utilization of information systems,libraries, museums, and special collections a functional, indispensableprocess in learning. University teaching should be vitalized by theinfusion of the best ideas and information, made possible by Centerinformation services provided to the faculty.

3. University school personnel preparation programs should includea continuing use of research and experimentation data in all aspectsof preparation; this kind of activity should help all preservice andin-service personnel to become proficient at prescribed levels inthe utilization of all sources of information.

4. University preparation programs should include sufficient studyof and experience with professional groups to stimulate preserviceand in-service school personnel to become cosmopolitan in attitudetoward and acceptance of varied information sources and desire to beinvolved in professional contacts beyond the local school district.

5. University preparation programs should include formal instruction inthe use of information systems, libraries, and so forth. Learning how tolearn is an objective of greatest importance and should.become the, basisfor the kind of vital scholarship which should enable school personnel

16

to regenerate themselves personally and professionally alltheir lives.

6. The university should incorporate into school personnelpreparation programs data on information materials andsources related to instructional modules and informationsystems utilization. Mastery of information prof.cienciesat prescribed levels should be an integral part of master-ing total modules, such as the ones developed in the Michi-gan State University's Behavioral Science Elementary TeacherEducation Program.

7. The university Information System Center should encouragethe indexing of all staff-generated print and mediatematerials. (Since the ERIC system has been developedspecifically for education, the ERIC processes should beadapted for university use.)

8. The university Center should assume an active leadershiprole in identifying instructional materials for variouskinds of institutional collections and in processing ordersfor such materials requested by university staff for theirinstructional and scholarly uses.

9. The university Center itself should collect and inter-pret data needed by program planners, researchers, andpractitioners as well as synthesize and interpret data fromother places.

10. The university Center should stimulate interdisciplinarystudies of information systems relative to: a) types ofideas and information needed, b) means useful in meetingneeds, c) information flow patterns, d) user characteristics,e) behaviors of generators and users of information.

11. University faculty members should collaborate on aparity basis with personnel in school districts and thestate education agency to plan programs and activities.This should generate a two-way, face-to-face informationexchange which can stimulate exemplary programs in allplaces where school personnel are prepared.

12. The university Center should encourage all facultymembers to use their professional contacts throughout thenation and world to support information centers.

13. The university staff should use its influence topromote the development of a comprehensive network ofinformation systems, each with functional inter acing.

17

14. The university Center should provide feedback to in-formation systems concerning extent of their use, problemsencountered in their use, and needed improvements.

15. The university staff should collaborate with informa-tion analysis centers in identifying needed state-of-the-artpapers, bibliographies, and directories and in getting themdeveloped. Such materials should be used extensively inall phases of preparation programs.

16. The university Center should provide copies of alldocuments generated through its projects and scholarlyendeavors of its staff to appropriate ERIC clearinghousesand other information systems.

17. University personnel should use their influences ingetting commercial and non-profit publishers to includeERIC index terms, identifiers (identifying terms not in-cluded in the ERIC Thesaurus), and abstracts as integralparts of all pUBTIEETTOTT7--

18. University personnel should use their influence toencourage commercial and non-profit publishers to grantrelease privileges to information systems to enable themto reproduce documents in "microfiche" and "hard copy"form. (These forms do not appear to be competitive withoriginal documents, and release privileges would make docu-ments available after original documents are out of print).

The university Center should provide technicalassistance in implementing the information component con-tained in Michigan State University's Behavioral ScienceElementary Teacher Education Program (Volume III, Section 10,pp. 1-64). This is a sound proposal for monitoring progressin instructional module mastery and for revising the modules.Implementation of the recommendations listed above is notdependent on immediate implementation of the informationcomponent of the MSU elementary teacher education model.That proposed component should be considered carefully inoverall university planning of its information systems.

Conclusions

Practioners and researchers in the field of schoolpersonnel preparation need an effective information servicedesigned and administered specifically for them: a) Theyshould not use their professional services in information

18

searching; b) Information specialists can provide betterservices. In a fast-changing, complex world, only thebest ideas and inforMation are acceptable if preparationprograms are to develop preservice and in-service schoolpersonnel who are competent in meeting individual andsocietal needs.

School personnel trainers should use informationservices regularly and promote similar usage by preserviceand in-service personnel. Sound ideas and informationshould be prerequisites for all planning, implementation,and assessment activities wherever personnel preparationprograms are carried on.

The needed technology and the processes for soundinformation services are available now and are being im-proved continuously. The university needs a major commit-ment to assess information needs relative to objectives,to study on-campus and other information capabilities, andto act to develop and improve them. While many informationsystems can serve general educational purposes, schoolpersonnel preparation is sufficiently important to requirea special information services center to bring variousinformation systems and capabilities to bear on preparationprograms and to conduct several supplementary informationactivities.

Since preparation programs take place under sev-eral auspices, collegiate personnel have responsibilitiesfor strengthening various kinds of information systems.There is an urgent need for more effective use of existingcapabilities and for establishing new coalitions to createthe kinds of services which can and must make a differencein preparation programs. This is an important key to im-proving education on all levels for all the people.

19

Otid3vir.:traa`Ovineithr,hte.r0."arwrs... V&A, ,'-WA'Ir.-tb.i,V,-Alk.,,,L,xrn, .IA

LIBRARIANSHIP AND DOCUMENTATION

A Functional Comparison

Librarian- Documen-ship talon

I. CREATING OR GENERATING

II. RECORDING (PUBLISHING)Editing

I 1

:Unser :1isosuoisomi

is. oes

melmnICInom

VIIMalSeelMit

,

rwm:

soleeSO

Cli-

auSeisWM

- ,

III. ACQUIRINGLocatingSelecting

.oiloSiiii

MO.

Eso

= ..MOM

inso motweto s5so

so::onOS

Seal1:::muSeel

SOMe

IDOS

Biel=IS!

IV. ASSIMILATING (CONTROLLING)CatalogingClassifyingIndexing =irensmajm

V. ANALYZING (EXPLOITING)AbstractingAnnotatingbibliography PreparationTranslatingData AnalyzingPreparing Annual Reviews

i mrgiroVIJo

VI. STORING

VII. RETRIEVING

VIII. SERVINGReference Answering

si Circulating+ Reproducing

IX. ADMINISTERING ANDOPERATING SERVICES

.__.011111:111 Basic Responsibility TE.--4:JT.f Ancillary Reopens b' ty

(from George Grimes, Information Services, Michigan OhioRegional Educational Laboratory, July, 1969, p.6)

20

MICHIGAN -OHIO REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORY3750 Woodward Avenue Detroit, Michigan 48201

REFERRAL LIBRARYSEARCH PROCEDURE

,...........NAME OF USER DATE OF INQUIRY

INQUIRY (BRIEF)

ASSOCIATED DESCRIPTIVE TERMS

INFORMATION AGENCIESAlexander G. Bell Association for the DeafAmerican Educational Research Association (NEA)American Society of African Culture Library

U Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (NEA)Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of StateCenter for Research and Development for Cognitive LearningCenter for Research and Development in Higher EducationCenter for Research and Development in TeachingCenter for Research and Development on Educational DifferencesCenter for Research in the Study of Social Organization of SchoolsCenter for the Advanced Study of Educational AdministrationCenter for the Study of Evaluation of Instructional ProgramsCenter for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults

III Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical InformationClearinghouse for Sociological LiteratureData Repository of the Survey Research Laboratory, Univ. of IllinoisDefense Documentation CenterDepartment of Audiovisual Instruction (NEA)Department of Classroom Teachers (NEA)Department of Elementary School Principals INEA)Educational Facilities Laboratories (Facilities Information Service)Educational Products Information Exchange (EPIE)Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

III EDUCOM (Interuniversity Communications Council)Foundation Library CenterInformation Research CenterInstitute for International EducationInternational Data Library and Reference ServiceInstructional Objectives Exchange, Center for the Study of Evaluation,

Univ. of California.(Los Angeles)International Clearnighouse on Science and Mathematics Curricular

Developments

Learning Research and Development CenterLibrary Technology Program, American Library AssociationMental Health Research InstituteMidwestern States Educational Information ProjectNational Association of Secondary School Principals (NEA)National Auxiliary Publications ServiceNational Information Center for Educational Media (NICEM)National Institute for Child Health and Development Science Informs-

tion CenterNational Institute for Mental Health Clearinghouse f.National Library of Medicine (MEDLARS)

III National Referral Center for Science and TechnologyNegro Bibliographic and Research CenterNeurological Information NetworkOffice of Information, U.S. Office of EducationOffice of Manpower and Employment Statistics, Bureau of LAW,

StatisticsOffice of Legislation, U.S. Office of EducationPopulation Reference BureauProject 1NTR EXProject Public InformationRegional Educational LaboratoriesResearch and Development Center in Educational StimulationResearch and Development Center for Teacher EducationResearch Program in Child DevelopmentResearch Utilization Branch, Bureau of Research, USOESchool Information and Research ServiceSchool Research Information Service (SRIS)Science Information Exchange (SIE)TALENT Dits Bank

WORK IN PROGRESSContemporary AuthmsPacesetters in Innovation (annual)Programs in Progress Encyclopedia

Research in Education (monthly)Research Studies in Education (annual)Science Information Exchange (see 'I4formation Agencies' section)...--...--

UNPUBLISHED STUDIESIIII DATRIXII Dissertation Abstracts

Masters AbstractsTALENT Data Bank (see 'Information Agencies' section)

PERIODICALSALA Bulletin (monthly)American Documentation (quarterly)American Education (monthly; bum D to Jy)American Education Research Journal (quarterly)Audiovisual Instruction (monthly S to Jy)Automated Education HandbookBulletinNational Assn of Secondary School PrincipalsChild Development (quarterly)Children Ibi-m, S to Jy)College and University ReportsComparative Education Review (3x yr)Congressional Quarterly Service

,Croft Newsletter Services IEducationEducation Recaps (monthly)

11 Educational Administration QuarterlyEducation Leadership (monthly 0 to My)Educational Technology (bim)Educational Product Report (9x yr)ERIC Document Collections

111 Facts on FileGovernment Contracts Guide

Guide to Federal Assistance for EducationHarvard Education Review (quarterly)Joint Council on Educational Telecommunications Data Base ServiceJournal of Applied Psychology (bi -m)Journal of Educational Psychology Ibi-m 0 to ANJournal of Educational Research (10x yr)Journal of Research and Development in Education (quarterly)Journal of Teacher EducationNational Elementary Principal 16x year)Phi Delta Kappan (monthly S to Jn)Psychological Review (bi-m)Report on the Education of the DisadvantagedReview of Educational Research (5x yr)Saturday Review (weekly)School and Society (bi-m)Scientific Information NotesSocial Education (monthly)Teachers College Record (monthly 0 to MY)Theory into Practice (5x yr)Today's EducationThe Journal of the NEA (monthly)Urban Education (quarterly)

MOREL. 301P69

REPORTS AND MONOGRAPHS

0Abstracts of Papers (AERA)Cooperativo Research Monograph Series (USOE)

..... ,rwmialni.1.=1110

-NLA Hesearch ReportsWhat Research Says to the Teacher

INDEXING AND ABSTRACTING SERVICESAbstracts for Social Workers fax yr)Abstracts of Computer LiteratureAbstracts of Instructional Materials in Vocational and Technical

Education (AIM)0 Abstracts of Research and Related Materials in Vocational and Techni-

cal Education (ARM)Bibliographic IndexBiography IndexBook Review Digest (10x yr)British Education Index)Child Development Abstracts and BibliographyCIRF AbstractsCollege Student Personnel AbstractsCurrent ContentsEducation (weekly)

III Current Index to Journals in EducationDocumentation AbstractsEducation IndexEducation Administration AbstractsGuide to Microforms in PrintIndex to Periodical Articles By and About Negroes

Library and Information Science AbstractsLibrary LiteratureMental Retardation AbstractsMonthly Catalog of U.S. Government DocumentsMonthly Checklist of State PublicationsNew Serial Titles ,

New York Times IndexPerceptual Cognitive Development (bi-monthly) .

Poverty and Human Resources AbstractsPsychological AbstractsPublic Affairs Information Service BulletinReader's Guide to Periodical LiteratureResearch Grants IndexResearch in EducationSocial Science and Humanities IndexSociological Abstracts .State Education Journal Index

19 Subject Index to Children's Magazines .,- .

Vertical File Index

ANNUAL REVIEWS & STATE OF THE ART REPORTS

Annual Phi Delta Kappa Symposium on Educational ResearchAnnual Review of Information Science and TechnologyAssn. for Supervision and Curriculum Development YearbookBiennial Survey of EducationcaBowker Annual

, -Britannica Book of the YearDigest of Public General Bills & Selected Resolutions with Index

,,.

National Society for the Study of Education Yearbook

.. :,,

International Yearbook of EducationII National Council for the Social Studies Yearbook '

IBIBLIOGRAPHIC REVIEWSBibliography on Knowledge Utilization and Dissemination gll "Outstanding Education Books of 19" in Today's Education; theThe Teacher's Library: How to Organize It and What to Include Journal of the NEA (annual, May)

V.....

BOOKSAmerican Book Publishing RecordBooks in PrintCumulative Book Indexrorthcoming BooksGuide to Reference BooksPaperbound Books in Print

Publishers' Trade List AnnualReference Books in the Mass MediaScholarly Books in America

, rSubject Guide to Books in PrintSubject Guide to Forthcoming Books ',.,,Textbooks in Print

ENCYCLOPEDIC SUMMARIESEncyclopedia Britannia Encyclopedia of Library and Information ScienceEncyclopedia of Educational Research

.

. ..0

SEARcHr it'll" v:iNATURE

..............

DATE COMPLETED

(from George Grimes and James Doyle, Information Resources,Michigan Ohio Regional Educational Laboratory, liffiTaIRTpp.8-9)

22

eration of Educational Resources Information Center ERICearing ouse on eac er ucation

Defining ERIC--a General Introduction

a. ERIC is:

A national information system dedicated to the pro-gress of education through the dissemination of educa-tional research results, research-related materials,and other resource information that can be used indeveloping more effective educational programs.

A network of specialized centers or clearinghouseseach of which is responsible for a particular educationalarea, and each of which acquires, evaluates, abstracts,indexes, and lists their findings for use in the ERICreference products.

For those interested in education an invaluablesource for obtaining documents as well as numerousother materials on education.

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)is a national information system designed to provideaccess to the up-to-date valuable literature being pro-duced on educational topics--and to provide these docu-ments to the members of the nation's education community.

b. ERIC does:

Through its individual clearinghouses;

ERIC collects, synthesizes, analyses, stores, anddisseminates information on education.

ERIC furnishes copies of documents on educationat a nominal cost.

ERIC prepares bibliographies and research reviewson critical topics in education.

Through Central ERIC:

ERIC coordinates the efforts of decentralized in-

23

formation centers (the clearinghouses) throughout thecountry.

c. ERIC helps:

1) College and school administrators2) Teachers of elementary, secondary, and highereducation3) Education supervisors and research staff members4) Graduate and undergraduate students5) Librarians and information specialists6) Members and staff of professional organizations7) Lay people, legislators, and school boardstudy groups

d. ERIC helps to:

1) Identify new and significant educational develop-ments2) Apply new management tools and practices to localsituations3) Base budget estimates on latest research datato use as basis for innovation4) Obtain the latest information on preserviceand in-service training5) Learn about new classroom techniques andmaterials6) Discover "how-to-do-it" projects for personaland professional development7) Gain access to latest information for preparingterm papers, theses, and dissertations8) Obtain information on career development ineducation9) Build personalized, low-cost library on education

10;) Keep up-to-date on research in one's field ofinterest

11) Avoid duplication of research efforts12) Obtain full-text documents on research13) Improve one's own teaching practices and over-all curriculum

14) Complete bibliographies on specific educationaltopics

15) Assist others in educational research

2. Structure and Scope of ERIC

a. Beginning of ERIC

ERIC began in 1964 as a center for indexing anddisseminating Bureau of Research documents.

24

Nineteen Clearinghouses

Today there are nineteen ERIC clearinghouses, non-profit organizations, sponsored by various educationalorganizations throughout the country.

Each clearinghouse is concerned with information ina specific subject area, and maintains set prioritiesto define that area. The clearinghouses existing todate cover the following sujbect areas:

1) Adult education2) Counseling and personnel services3) Disadvantaged4) Early childhood education5) Educational administration6) Educational facilities7) Educational media and technology8) Junior colleges9) Higher education

10) Library and information science11) Linguistics12) Reading13) Rural education and small schools14) Science education15) Teacher education16) Teaching of English17) Teaching of foreign languages18) Vocational and technical education

The locations of the nineteen clearinghouses havea wide geographical distribution throughout the coun-try. This fact in itself provides greater accessibilityto ERIC for the user. The locations include:

1) Syracuse, New York2) Ann Arbor, Michigan3) New York, New York4) Urbana, Illinois5) Eugene, Oregon6) Madison, Wisconsin7) Stanford, California8) Washington, D. C.

9) Los Angeles, California10) Minneapolis, Minnesota11) Bloomington, Indiana12) Las Cruces, New Mexico13) Columbus, Ohio14) Champaign, Illinois

25

c. Roles of the Individual Clearinghouses

With information related to its field each clear-inghouse acquires, evaluates, abstracts, indexes, andlists documents in the ERIC reference products.

Each clearinghouse also generates newsletters,bulletins, bibliographies, research reviews, and inter-pretive studies on educational subjects such as stateof the arts papers. Each clearinghouse works to satis-fy the needs of the educational area it serves.

Besides indexing documents for the central ERICreference products, each clearinghouse has a localcollection of documents, of special significance to itssubject area alone.

Every clearinghouse has a complete library of allof the ERIC reference products and document collections,and as such can serve as specialized reference librariesfor the user.

Because the geographical distribution of the loca-tions of the clearinghouses is so expansive, many userscan take advantage of the clearinghouses by actualcontact, if other research tactics using the ERICproducts fail.

d. Comprehensiveness of ERIC

Through its several publications both the centralones and the individual publications of the clearing-houses, ERIC reaches an estimated 400,000 monthlysubscribers.

RIE has more than 4,400 monthly subscribers.

About 5.2 million documents have been sold by ERICDocument Reproduction Service.

By December 1968 the ERIC collection included over18,000 screened educational reports.

More than 60,000 educators have received direct,personal assistance from ERIC clearinghouses.

Clearinghouses have disseminated more than 350state of knowledge reviews, bibliographies, and guidesin instructional materials.

26

e. Futue of ERIC

With greater and greater awareness of the value ofthe ERIC system, and more contributions from people ineducation to ERIC, ERIC may become an even more resource-ful system and service to serve the nation's education-al community.

3. Using ERIC

a. What There is to Use

The continuing publications of ERIC include Researchin Education, (RIE), a monthly index, as well asresearchin Education, the Annual Index, 1967, 68, and the semi-annual index for 1969.

A new index for periodical literature in education,the Current Index to Journals in Education.

The key to the use of both RIE and CIJE as well asthe key to using most of ERIC's-OTher indexes is theThesaurus of ERIC Descri?tors.

In the historical collection there are two volumesof the Office of Education Research Reports, the Resumes,and theTria-xes, 1956-1965.

And in the other ERIC collections are Pacesetters inInnovation, for Fiscal Years, 1966 '67 anamaTThe------'IC Catalog o Selectee Documents on t e Disadvantaged,

SiTECted Documents in Higher Education and ManpowerInventory or Fiscal Years, l966:67.esearc

The documents themselves when available as designatedin the indexes come in two forms. They are produced inmicrofiche, a 4 x 6 inch sheet of film containing up to60 pages per sheet. These require a microfiche readerfor use. There is also the hard copy production, areproduction of the document on paper at about 70 per-cent of the original size.

There are as well the local products, the newsletters,bulletins, bibliographies, research reviews, and inter-pretive studies, prepared by the individual clearinghouses.

Finally, there are the local collections of docu-ments at each clearinghouse.

b. Where to Obtain ERIC's Sources

In December 1968, RIE had 4,442 paid subscribers

27

from every state in the Union, the District ofColumbia, the Trust Territories of the PacificIslands, and 39 foreign countries.

Subscribers of RIB presently include:

35% institutions of higher education32% state and local education agencies33% all other (governmental bodies, foreign, nonprofit

and profit making groups and individuals)

If the index or document you wish to use or obtainis not in your nearby library, university, or educationcenter, they may be obtained by subscription to:

Superintendent of DocumentsU. S. Government Printing OfficeWashington, D. C.

The documents may be obtained in microfiche and/or hardcopy from:

ERIC Document Reproduction ServiceThe National Cash Register Company4936 Fairmont AvenueBethesda, Maryland 20014

c. Search System--Using the Reference Tools

1. Using the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors

The Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors is a struc-tured compilation of approximately 3200 educationalterms used to index and enter documents in theERIC system. The use of the Thesaurus is the key tothe use of the several indexes, in particular RIE.A careful and accurate explanation of how to usethe Thesaurus needs to be included in the instruc4tionalpackages. (To be worked out and includedlater.)

In terms of availability, the Thesaurus ispublished on a yearly basis for generalUse. Alsoavailable to the abstractor/indexers of the indivi-dual clearinghouses is a monthly updated version ofthe Thesaurus in mimeographed form.

The Thesaurus includes a foreword, introduction,sample Thesaurus entry, descriptor group listing,descriptor listing, rotated descriptor display, andbibliography.

28

2. Using Research in Education,IRIE1

Research in Education, RIE, is a monthly ab-stract journal reporting on newly funded researchprojects supported by the Bureau of Research, U. S.Office of Education; recently completed researchor research-related reports; and other documents ofeducational significance, regardless of source.

Indexes available:

The indexes available include the Annual Indexof ERIC documents, the semi-annual index, and themonthly indexes with resumes.

Each monthly index includes an index of selectedERIC documents with ED numbers and an index of ERICprojects, on-going research projects sponsored bythe Office of Education with EP numbers.

Organization of Index

The index is organized by Document Section,including document resumes, a subject index, andauthor index, and an institution index; by a Pro-ject Resumes Section, including project resumes,subject index, investigator index, and institutionindex; by Accession Number Section with a cross ref-erence index; and a note on How to Order ERICProducts.

The Design of the index is by:

Subject to find documents and projects on aspecific: topic through the use of descriptors(Thesaurus terms)

Author or investigator to find out what an authorhas written or to learn what an investigator is nowdoing

Institution to find out what an institution haspublished or what research projects are now beingconducted at an institution

Accession number to identify a document numberwhen only the clearinghouse number is available

The Resume

Each of the monthly indexes of RIE includes a

29

series of resumes on all of the documents ERIChas processed that month and on all of the projects.

The resumes are indexed numerically accordingto their ED (ERIC Document) or EP (ERIC Project)number.

Information in the Report Resume may include theERIC accession number, legislative Authority Codefor identifying the legislation which supportedthe research activity, and the clearinghouse acces-sion number.

Cataloguing may include authors, title andorganization where the document originated, thesponsoring agency responsible for initiating fundingand managing the research project, the report numberand/or Bureau number assigned by originator, thedate published, the contract or grant number (con-tract numbers have OEC prefixes), a descriptivenote listing the number of pages the document, analternate source for obtaining documents, the EDRSprice (the price through the ERIC Document Reproduc-tion Service), an indication of the document'savailability in MF (microfiche) and/or HC (hardcopy)or not available from EDRS in which case anothersource will have been given above.

Indexing--in the resume will include Descriptors,subject terms from the Thesaurus which characterizesubstantive contents. Only the major terms, preced-ed by an asterisk, are printed in the subjectindex. These terms enable a coordinate search.Indexing also includes Identifiers, additional iden-tifying terms not found in the Thesaurus of ERICDescriViors.

Abstract--an objective summary of the content ofthe document. From the abstract one can determinewhether a particular document pertains to the subjectbeing researched. The abstractor's initials areincluded in parentheses at the end of the abstract.

It is important to underline the objectivity ofthe abstract. The abstract is simply a report onthe content of the document; no evaluation is invol-ved here.

There are two kinds of abstracts, the informativeand the indicative. The indicative would be used,for example, on a bibliography.

30

3. Usin. Current Index to Journals in Education CIJE

CIJE indexes journals in the field of educationand covers periodical literature relating to thefield of education.

Unlike RIE, CIJE includes no abstracts of the

articles. TOY d-oesERIC provide a file of thearticles in microfiche or hard copy. The index issimply an added service providing an efficientresource for periodical material in education.

Indexes available with EJ (ERIC Journal) numbersinclude a monthly index, a semi-annual index, and anannual index.

The design of the CIJE includes:

A foreword

An introduction

A section on hew the index is organized

The descriptor groups, a numerical coding ofgroups of articles into broad subject categories

A source journal index which details the namesof journals from which the indexed articles aretaken

Main entry section for focus on an area in thefield of education of interest. The resume in themain entry section includes the EJ number, theDescriptor Group Code, the Clearinghouse AccessionNumber, the title, the author, the abbreviatedjournal title, the volume and issue number, thepublication date, the number of pages, the descrip-tors, Thesaurus subject terms, which characterizesubstantive contents. Only the major terms, pre-ceded by an asterisk, are printed in the subjectindex; and the identifiers, identifying terms notfound in the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors.

Subject Index, with as many as five Thesaurusdescriptors per journal. These descriptors arethose terms preceded by an asterisk in the appli-cable main entry. Also included are the title and

EJ number.

Author Index includes the author's name given in

31

a

full when available. If co-authors are responsiblefor the article, both names are indexed. If morethan two authors are given with the article, onlythe first author is indexed. Also included are thetitle and the EJ number.

4. The ERIC Catalog of Selected Documents on theDisadvantaged

This index contains two volumes, a subject indexand a number and author index of 1,740 selecteddocuments related to educational programs for thedisadvantaged.

The subject index is a coordinate indexing systemsupplying only document numbers on subjects ofinterest to the user.

The Number and Author Index:

The number index is a sequential listing ofeach document by document number, ED 001001 throughED 001740, with a complete bibliographical citationfor each document, including originator controlnumber (s), identification, author (s), title ofdocument, publication title, editor (s), place oforigin, publisher or source, volume, pages, date,total pages, and ERIC Document Reproduction Serviceprices for microfiche and hard copy.

The Author Index is an alphabetical listing ofpersonal authors for each document, together withthe document number.

5. Pacesetters in Innovation Index for Fiscal Years' 8

This index is a compilation of planning andoperational grants under Title III, SupplementaryCenters and Services, of the Elementary and Second-ary Education Act of 1965. The index presentsinformation on Projects to Advance Creativity inEducation (PACE).

The index is organized by subject, by localeducation agency, by project number (ES), and byproject resume.

32

6. Manpower Research for Fiscal Years 1966, '67

This is an index of selected manpower researchreports, sponsored by member agencies of the Inter-agency Committee on Manpower Research whose member-ship includes representatives of the Departments ofLabor; Health, Education, and Welfare; Housing andUrban Development; the Office of Economic Opportunityand the Bureau of the Budget.

The index is organized in two sections. Aresume section is listed according to accessionnumber (MP 000 001-MP---392). The index section isarranged by subject, by institution responsiblefor preparing the reports, by sponsoring agency,and by the individuals who did the research.

7. Selected Documents in Higher Education is anumber an subject index, covering : 5 ocuments.

8. Office of Education Research Reports, 1956-1965is an index of research reports received before thepublication of RIE. The index is compiled in twovolumes, Resumes and Indexes, by author, institution,subject, ilidTeTort nUri5e77

33