The history of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) courseware is described with specific reference to the PLATO system. Among the goals of courseware authors are finding better ways to develop the cognitive skills of students, to shift some of the burden of routine classroom instruction away from the teacher so that more class time can be spent in…

In the current trend toward improvement of instruction and accountability, the writing of objectives has become an almost universal requirement. Objectives, in fact, may be at a general, specific, or competency level, but it is impossible to begin to write any of these until a course configuration (format) has been developed. Construction of a…

This paper draws on a study of curriculum consonance (correspondence between teachers' goals, what ensues in the classroom, and what students learn) in three tenth-grade social studies classrooms. The three teachers had about the same number of years of teaching experience and educational attainment, and they were about the same age. The…

This brief overview includes a rationale for the program and describes course goals and objectives, curriculum content, teaching methods and materials, staffing, and problems of integrating computer aided design with traditional architectural curricula at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at UCLA. A list of texts for use in teaching…

This discussion describes standards developed by Villa Julie College (Maryland) to avoid arbitrarily designating courses as "upper-level." Initially the school established a double concept of quality: either the absolute or "floor" sense (taken from minimum standards of accreditation) or the relative or "ceiling"…

A "special themes in literature" course about illness and disability was designed to help future nurses to understand the human, rather than the clinical, dimensions of impairment and its effects on the sufferer as well as the sufferer's family, associates, and community. The objectives of the course were to look at such matters as…

This paper presents a model of an interactive mode for instructional research and development that might yield both curriculum products and scientific knowledge concerning learning and instruction. Curriculum development is discussed as an applied science and as an art, using specific research and development efforts conducted at the Learning…

Many teachers feel that the primary goal of language education is the development of communicative rather than linguistic competence. This shift in focus has affected syllabus design. However, no single syllabus appears satisfactory by itself. The grammatical syllabus is effective to instill in learners automatic production of accurate structural…

Components of national undergraduate geography major curricula are reviewed, followed by discussion of a behavioral approach to curriculum theory and a case study which incorporates behavioral objectives in curriculum development. Surveys in 1968 and 1974 revealed that most undergraduate major geography programs are loosely structured and contain…

The Open University of Great Britain is an open-enrollment, home-based institution in which the majority of the instruction is conducted via broadcasts and correspondence. The student is required to interact with printed materials, broadcasts, tutors, counselors, assignments, cassette recordings, experiment kits, etc. The choice of media is…

A course in pharmacy administration principles at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy taught by Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) was found to produce generally favorable student evaluation of course and instructor. Examples of instructional unit objectives are provided. (Author/MLW)

A French language program used in a Montessori school with children in preschool through junior high grades is described. The program provides language instruction in the classroom by a French specialist as well as separate French classes, a compromise between immersion and the Montessori methodology. The children are able to work independently…

The ideal foreign language business course would be a cooperative effort between the business school and the foreign language department, prepare students for any of the five proficiency levels in the French Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris test, be designed for the American working in France, and have a balanced international trade…

This paper describes an undergraduate course for non-education majors which emphasizes rational decision making as advocated by John Dewey. The course, offered in 1976 by the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, had three instructional goals. These were to (1) provide students an opportunity to learn about…