He has consulted with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help devise strategies to bring better information to smallholder farmers in South Asia and Africa.
[5] Since his Stanford days as a graduate student and later as a faculty member, Allen was committed to integrating technology into teaching and learning and to extensive education reform.
In Stanford, he developed the first computer based school scheduling system and microteaching, which is a teacher training practicum that has been used worldwide ever since then.
When he became the Dean of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in 1968, Allen contended with the status quo and worked to combat institutional racism.
Allen argues that the career achievements of the doctoral programs' graduates have vindicated his radical reforms.
In China, he served as Consultant to the United Nations Development Programme Project and focused on educational reform and teacher training (1991–2009).
[citation needed] Allen proposed many new education reform initiatives in his co-authored book with Bill Cosby: American School: The 100 Billion Dollar Challenge.
The original Stanford model took a “teach → review & reflect → re-teach approach”, using actual school students as an authentic audience.
The model has been adapted to college and university teacher training programs where it has been used most often to elicit a concentrated, focused form of peer feedback.
This is designed to provide a snapshot of the teaching method or style of a participant in order to get a fresh perspectives on it from peers.
Years ago, Allen simplified the process of microteaching by incorporating the 2+2 performance appraisal system.
After the presentation, these "students" provide feedback (oral or written) for the "teacher" on the lesson which includes 2 compliments and 2 suggestions (2+2).
A micro lesson is an opportunity to present a sample “snapshot” of what/how a participant (teacher or pre-teacher) teaches and to get different feedback from colleagues/peers about how it was received.
2+2 was initially developed as an alternative to more formal, elaborate evaluation visits, but is now used in much broader contexts, essentially whenever it is desirable to provide feedback based on observation.
2+2 involves the giving of 2 compliments and 2 suggestions to a colleague (senior, junior or peer) based on the observations of a person's behavior or performance.
They co-authored a book in 2000: American Schools: The $100 Billion Challenge Cynthia Shepard Perry received her Doctorate in Education in UMASS Amherst in 1972.
Steven Gluckstern, recently retired as an executive, entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and educator, received his Ed.D.
He was the founding coordinator of NewPAGE, ODU's environmental education class, required for more than 2,000 freshmen for four years.
In 1986 and 1987, he served as a consultant for UNDP project coordinator for Donors' Conference for the Rehabilitation of Makerere, University at Kampala in Uganda.
From 1998 to 2001, he served as International Technical Advisor for a UNDP project China entitled “UNDP/CPR/96/401: Improving Nine-Year Compulsory Education in Poor Areas: Focusing on Girls”.
He made significant contributions to various educational programs and technology improvement in elementary and secondary schools.