Presents the syllabus of an introductory U.S. government course. The course stresses alternative views on government including multiculturalism, grass-roots politics, social issues, class, race, and gender. Specifically, seeks to inculcate critical thinking and a global awareness. Includes a course outline, discussion of grading policies, and list…

Describes four research courses developed by the instructional systems faculty at the University of Florida which are designed to prepare doctoral students to plan and conduct high quality instructional systems research. Goals of each course are described, as well as course procedures and products, and evaluation methods. (MBR)

Description of undergraduate program at the School of Librarianship and Information Studies, Polytechnic of North London, focuses on course objectives, the teaching sequence, and conceptual relationships between the major curriculum elements. Problems of integrating diverse teaching approaches and of forming a taxonomy of objectives in…

In the face of widespread geographic ignorance, the article applauds the improved status of geography in the schools, describing it as the science best able to meet the challenge of ensuring that students' mental maps of the world are filled in with great and accurate detail. The field is defined through a multiple definition as both a physical…

Describes philosophy behind development of British Open University's course "Education for Adults," which emphasizes adult learner independence and autonomy and implements an andragogical approach within a distance teaching system. Significance of evaluation data from the course and the challenge presented to designers of courses are…

This paper describes an innovative interdisciplinary course offered at the University of New Orleans (Louisiana) which involved community members as full-fledged partners with students and university faculty in service-learning-by-doing teams. Each student, with the assistance of a faculty member and a community partner, identified an opportunity…

Analyzes data collected from 132 liberal arts colleges to determine the motivating factors for the presence of gender-oriented courses. Results suggest that highly ranked, nonreligiously affiliated schools are most likely to support these courses. Many also are found in larger economics departments with a high percentage of women students. (MJP)

Describes a course which provides training opportunities for academic staff who wish to acquire professional orientation toward their teaching functions. Course origins, current practices, and an independent course evaluation are described. Tentative conclusions are drawn concerning distance academic staff training and ways distance study can…

Discusses the purpose, the rationale, and an evaluation of students' comments concerning an introductory college science course for nonscience majors that utilizes content area reading and writing to instill an appreciation for the everyday importance of science by focusing on the theme of science in the news, particularly as reported in the print…

This paper offers some reflections on reconstructing the role of school law instruction in colleges of education, and specifically in administrator preparation programs. Three aspects of a school law course are discussed as they relate to the typical path of educational administrators' academic preparation. The "translational dimension" of school…

Discusses highlights of a literature review on guidelines for formative evaluation of courseware and the development of a formative evaluation instrument by the Kanata High Technology Training Association (Ottawa). The eight dimensions of the resultant questionnaire are listed and a copy of the evaluation instrument is included. (MBR)

Describes an undergraduate course in applied shoreline management offered in three different formats: traditional lecture, half-lecture half-collaborative, and fully cooperative. Student evaluations significantly supported the fully cooperative format over the others. Discusses the reasons for this and includes examples of the questions used in…

Wellness and holistic health models, which focus on life style as a major component of long term health, are thriving throughout the United States. To evaluate the impact of an undergraduate psycholgoy course dealing with health enhancement, wellness, and prevention issues, 24 college freshmen enrolled in one of two courses for a 10-week period: a…

In an effort to identify characteristics of effective college composition programs, an examination was made of 19 campuses of the California State University. Each English department chair was sent a "fact sheet" requesting program information on such matters as the use of placement test scores, sequence of and prerequisites for lower…

Describes an instructional development project in which data adequately describing learner characteristics was used to identify content for 18 continuing educational instructional modules for physician assistants. Utilization of learner data to provide instructional designer with precise criteria required to select content for both health and…