This pamphlet discusses the use of questioning in the college classroom and its contribution to learning. Starting with a brief examination of the ways children question, discussions cover: (1) the effects of linguistic and socio-linguistic characteristics in questioning; (2) questions in psychotherapy, law, and opinion polling; (3) classroom…

This pamphlet examines notetaking by college students in a discussion of: (1) student attitudes regarding notetaking; (2) observations of notetaking behavior; (3) the relationship between notetaking, quizzes, and college grades; (4) how notes help test performance; and (5) individual differences and notetaking practices. Based on observations and…

College teachers can act as intermediaries between a class and a body of knowledge by making three important contributions: structure, evaluation, and support. The teacher's task is to keep the student's initial drive and enthusiasm intact while thwarting the desire to be content with easy answers. Teachers need to encourage a critical outlook and…

Aspects of the lecture that make it come across well, requirements for learning in the classroom, and selected findings from an instructor-designed questionnaire that includes student evaluations of instruction are discussed. Lecturing teachers need to talk with credibility and enthusiasm and to prepare the substance of the presentation, the…

This pamphlet explores the results of a study concerning what expert lecturers are aware of during their lectures. Results of interviews with seven college lecturers, recipients of university teaching awards, are reported, as are summary evaluations of each professor's classroom where an audio tape was made of that day's lecture. Each evaluation…

Suggestions on how to enhance college teaching are provided. Lecturing is stressed as a critical component of teaching, and each lecture's introduction, main body, and conclusion must be correlated prior to any given lecture. Information on how to compose and give a lecture includes: what to put in an introduction; what can be done to help the…

This pamphlet examines instructional improvement process in postsecondary education. It first discusses the importance of teaching, revealing that too little sustained attention to the process of teaching is a major deterrent to its improvement, and explains why teaching evaluation has been largely abandoned as the sole improvement mechanism.…

The six editions of the newsletter provide a forum for the sharing of research findings and instructional strategies by faculty of Western Michigan University. Topics addressed include: active learning; lecture variations; lecture techniques; grading student participation; leading discussions; overcoming silence; discussion challenges; course…

The creative process of teaching is discussed. Teachers are artists because they employ creativity when they formulate, select, and organize their ideas into a medium which is called a lesson. This medium, in turn, is the means which provides a learning experience for others. There are eight articles. In the first article, "What is a Lesson?"…

"Edinburgh Working Papers" is intended to show a yearly cross-section of current work in Edinburgh's Department of Applied Linguistics and to elicit reactions and criticism. Articles in this volume include the following: "MSC Common Room Conversations: Topics and Terms" (Joan Cutting); "Speculation and Empiricism in Applied Linguistics" (Alan…

Ten newsletter issues on the Graduate Teacher Program (GTP) at the University of Colorado are presented. The initial issue provides an overview of the GTP and the University Learning Center, and covers scholarships offered to graduate students, the Graduate Student Advisory Council, and student support services on the Boulder campus. Additional…

This paper first evaluates discipline classification schemes and general differences between disciplines associated with the natural sciences and those associated with the humanities. It then reviews research which either asked students how professors in these fields teach, observed teachers in their classrooms, or asked students to describe their…

Five articles on research and development in higher education and three review articles are presented. Titles and authors are as follows: "Students' Assessments of Instruction as a Basis for Teaching Improvement and Promotions Decisions: A Case-Study" (John Jones); "The Making of Academic Promotion Decisions: Criteria and…