A Vocational Approach to Written Communications. Final Report.

Students' cognitive and affective development in achieving written communication objectives in the context of the world of work were compared with the same objectives placed in a liberal arts context. The research project involved four groups of students at Platte Technical Community College. Two experimental groups completed the cognitive objectives in the world of work context, whereas the two control groups completed the cognitive objectives in a liberal arts context. The students engaged in four projects within their respective settings. The posttest-only control group design was used to determine cognitive and affective differences. The data analysis showed that overall the experimental approach proved better in cognitive skill development and the control approach proved somewhat better in affective development. Performance objectives, evaluative criteria, and tabulated project data are appended. (VA)