ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a number of educational researchers who wished to apply Piaget's ideas to school settings, something Piaget had never done. Some researchers hypothesized that intellectual development could be accelerated with enriched programs. It illustrates how innovative programs emerge and are developed. Initially someone identifies an idea or research that suggests the possibility of a theory about human behavior. The theory might emerge from insight into human behavior, thinking processes, or perceptions of reality. Slavin examined the Madeline Hunter model is sometimes called Instructional Theory Into Practice (ITIP) or Program for Effective Teaching (PET). Student teachers were expected to develop lesson plans and units that used the ITIP steps to effective teaching as a template. Many of the elements of ITIP were based on psychological research and learning theory. Other elements of ITIP, such as the correct level of difficulty, were based on theoretical models.
