"The First-Year Seminar: Designing, Implementing, and Assessing Courses to Support Student Learning and Success," a five-volume series, is designed to assist educators who are interested in launching a first-year seminar or revamping an existing program. Each volume examines a different aspect of first-year seminar design or administration and…

Synthesizing the best current thinking about learning, course design, and promoting student achievement, this is a guide to developing college instruction that has clear purpose, is well integrated into the curriculum, and improves student learning in predictable and measurable ways. The process involves developing a transparent course blueprint,…

The Introduction to Sociology course is usually the first contact that students have with the discipline of sociology. This course can determine whether students take other sociology courses or learn to use sociology in their lives as adults and citizens. "First Contact" identifies important issues facing instructors in introducing students to the…

In 2011, the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition revisited its 1999 National Survey of Senior Seminars and Capstone Courses to explore the current state of culminating experiences in American higher education. Drawn from a sample of public and private colleges and universities across the country, the…

Ways of utilizing behavioral objectives to their best advantage are specified. The purpose of the study is to help educators improve instruction through examination of different approaches to constructing behavioral objectives. Classroom teachers have been convinced that behavioral objectives are "necessary" for the functioning of the…

Developed for newly appointed or experienced college instructors, this monograph presents a process for specifying instructional objectives. After chapter 1 provides background on the process of writing learning objectives, chapter 2 defines the terms, "goals,""objectives,""instruction," and "learning." Chapter 3 provides the instructor with a…

This guide is intended for teachers who want to learn more about educational design of college courses. Chapter 1 identifies various pressures for change in designing courses and urges creation of conditions that foster deep learning. Chapter 2 examines various models of the course design process. Chapter 3 discusses beliefs, values and ideologies…

This book, working from an educator-defined set of curriculum tasks and their allotted time frames, provides a mechanism for linking instructional theory with classroom practices. Chapter titles are: (1) The Tasks of Curriculum Development; (2) Developing Major Goal Statements; (3) Assembling a Psychological Model for the Dominant Educable…

Since 1988, the National Resource Center has conducted a national survey every three years to gather information about the nature and extent of first-year seminars on American college campuses. The findings from the 2006 survey administration have been reorganized to make it easier to find information of interest with major chapters focusing on…

The five papers included in this collection illustrate the current concerns of those involved in the development and implementation of assessment procedures. A one year in-course assessment procedure conducted at Leicester University is described, including the advantages and disadvantages of the procedure. The problems of interpreting the results…

How do we estimate personal growth? What do experiential education programs accomplish? Personal growth (affective domain) often is fostered through experiential education programs, but it is difficult to measure the relationship between the two. One manner of measurement is the observation of external actions by a student that demonstrate what…

This report provides illustrations of practical applications of behavior modification to a variety of reading skills and is intended to be directly implemented in any classroom where reading is taught. The initial chapter is a brief orientation to behavior modification. It stresses that the trainer must answer the question of what behavior is to…

This book is intended to help college faculty effectively design and evaluate courses and curricula. The 16 chapters address the following topics: a learning-centered approach to course and curriculum design; a systematic design model (showing benefits); the decision to begin a curriculum project; getting started; linking goals, courses, and…

The textbook provides a philosophical basis and offers practical suggestions for formulating behavioral objectives for students in grades 1-12 in the following subjects: English and literature, social science, mathematics, science, reading, art and music, and health. Definitions, uses, sources, and types of education objectives are discussed. The…

The National Humanities Faculty working papers collected in this document consider the process of curriculum development and approaches in curriculum presentation. Janet Hanley's "Success or Failure in Curriculum Development: Six Ways to Know" provides a set of review questions for curriculum developers to help insure a successful course. A. D.…