An approach to teaching introductory psychology is presented, stressing depth over coverage and giving power and authority to students rather than to the teacher and the textbook. The typical introductory class is dedicated to the notion of coverage, and textbooks and tests are material artifacts supporting the ideal of coverage. Also in most…

Teaching the basic course in speech communication can be challenging in many ways. A class debate revitalizes the course, while offering an excellent means for evaluating learning at the end of a semester course. Proficient use of interpersonal skills is necessary to organize group members and control group discussion; sufficient knowledge of…

An introductory Natural Science course with a focus on the laboratory is described. The main function of the course is getting students prepared for required individual projects in science. A copy of the syllabus, a description of laboratory experiments, and the context of the course are included. (KR)

Discusses an extra-credit project offered to students in introductory U.S. government courses. Describes a student journal to be kept throughout the semester over one of four specified topics. Concludes that the project allowed the student to connect material over the entire semester while learning about sources covering politics and the tension…

Describes a student project on television viewing for a introductory college sociology course. Includes 4 specific activities such as watching a news program for 10 minutes without sound or watching television for 30 minutes without turning it on. Reports on student attitudes toward the activity and discusses the role of television in society.…

Issues in teaching students who are neither mathematiaclly nor scientifically oriented to apply computers to their intellectual and creative pursuits are described. Suggestions are made for designing an introductory computer literacy course. (MSE)

Describes the creation of a computer-assisted course in introductory psychology. Discusses cost, availability, and requirements for hardware and software development. Provides a guide for teachers interested in developing such a course. Discusses student projects, a homework checker, exercises, and examinations. Argues that the technology frees…

Describes a student project for an introductory course in U.S. history in which students gather oral or written recollections of the Depression era of the 1930s. Includes a sample questionnaire and other suggested projects. Discusses discovery of the relevance of textbook material to students' families. (DK)

Calculus can be taught using meaningful problems and active participation, with provocative problem situations and large-scale projects. An Ithaca College (New York) introductory calculus course uses this problem-based learning approach to develop understanding of central concepts (differentiation, integration, approximation) with less of the…

Techniques for combining a communicative approach to second language teaching with assessment and use of Internet resources are presented. Emphasis is on beginning and intermediate language instruction. Two levels of student assessment projects designed for a unit on community and neighborhood are presented. The novice project involves exploration…

Uses the U.S. General Land Office Survey as a source of data for reconstruction of local presettlement vegetation patterns in the United States. Data serve as a basis for an introductory biogeography course at Indiana University, Indianapolis. Includes field exercises, questions, and tables of frequency of witness-trees records. (NL)

Describes four instructional techniques used to deliver specific developmental objectives in both an introductory chemistry course and a general course in science and technology. The four techniques described are miniresearch projects, scenario-based research projects, short essay examination questions, and issues-directed research project. (PR)

Describes a redefined introductory course on the principles of sociology based on seven principles of good teaching. Includes transforming the learner from passive to active, teaching the process of inquiry, and helping students realize why they are learning. Urges a student-centered approach to learning with the instructor as a participant…

Practical ways in which writing was used in a college level introductory social psychology course are described. Rather than being used almost exclusively as a tool for evaluation, the process of writing was also used as a tool for problem solving and for producing creative and analytical thinking. Writing was integrated into the course in three…

Reports on the impact of an introductory biology course sequence that incorporated experience-based, group learning. Achievement results indicate that students were not disadvantaged by this new approach and, in fact, displayed a superior grasp of group-work, open lab utilization, and creative problem solutions. Attitudes regarding anxiety over…