Writing to learn is a pedagogical approach grounded in the belief that the reasoning required to write about a topic or concept will help students gain understanding. However, research indicates that the impact writing has on student learning depends on context. Using a mixed-method, quasi-experimental, repeated measures design, we examined how…

A University of Idaho introductory course in political science describes basic concepts, institutions, and processes of politics and relate their importance to students' daily lives. The course is comparative in organization and structured to promote critical and analytical thinking about politics. (MSE)

Perceptions of student/professor competence and the reasons for a "chilly" classroom were investigated through a survey of 2,042 students from seventy-seven liberal arts colleges. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests showed statistically significant different responses by gender for all the questions. The perceptions of competence survey showed mixed…