College instruction aims not only to expand students' content knowledge, but also to help students develop practical skills, such as the ability to think critically. This study was conducted in a chemistry course for non science majors offered as part of a liberal education core curriculum at a large public university in the Midwest. Students…

The task of general education should be to provide a broad framework for understanding, an intellectual context within which factual information can meaningfully be comprehended. Each framework should have at least three qualities in common: an historical dimension, an intellectual dimension, and an analytical dimension. (MLW)

Reed College, a small, liberal arts college with high academic distinction, is described. Faculty participate in virtually all policy decisions and are hired and promoted according to the quality of their teaching. Its finances are improved, but it is still underfinanced and too heavily dependent on tuition income. (MLW)

Hirsch, author of "Cultural Literacy" (1987), wishes that progressive instructional methods were carefully monitored to see whether kids are actually learning. An "anti-subject-matter" orientation suits middle-class students better than kids from less educated families. Most elementary curricula stress "tool skills"…

Six undergraduate humanities courses and programs with a variety of structures and focuses are described, and sources of further information are given. (MSE)