College graduates are expected to acquire certain skill sets that are necessary and sought after by potential employers, as many industries in the United States continue to grow a global footprint. Employers also value good communication skills, and communication classes are a staple of most general education curricula, including those taught on…

Guidelines are provided for the development of a community college course in critical thinking. The first sections offer an overview of the nature and basic concepts of critical thinking, indicating that: (1) the skills developed in critical thinking classes include the ability to formulate a clear statement of a thesis or problem, evaluate…

This paper explains the educational objectives of an interpersonal communication course at a community college in a Minneapolis suburb. It first describes the nature of the college and its student population, on the basis that good interpersonal communication courses should be tailored to meet the needs of the students. The paper then shows how…

In spring 1984, an interdisciplinary course on the history and literature of man's voyages and relationship with the sea was introduced at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (JSRCC). The course was team taught from the perspectives of the social sciences and English departments, incorporating fiction and non-fiction sources related to…

Instructors of courses in mass society, culture, and communication start out facing three types of difficulties: the historical orientation of learning, the parochialism of various disciplines, and negative intellectually elitist attitudes toward mass culture/media. Added to these problems is the fact that many instructors have little or no…

Anthropology and interdisciplinary social sciences (ISS) education at two-year colleges are examined as revealed in a study of science education conducted by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges that involved a review of the literature, an examination of the catalogs and class schedules from 175 institutions, and a survey of 1,125…