This reflective essay tells the story of the transition of a Hollywood director to the professoriate. Jack Sholder's name may be familiar to those who are film buffs. As a filmmaker in Hollywood, he directed such films as "Alone in the Dark," "Nightmare on Elm Street 2," and "The Hidden." In addition, he won an Emmy…

Piaget's theories of cognitive development are applied to the college student and suggestions are given for helping students at different developmental stages. It is proposed that teachers provide experiences that promote cognitive conflict as a means of moving students into new stages. (MSE)

A recommended approach to college teaching and its improvement involves (1) collaboration with a faculty colleague who observes the teaching and (2) finding and using new ways of getting to know the students and how they learn. (MSE)

Information on fiscal year 1983-1984 awards made through the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education is provided. A list of recipients of new and continuation comprehensive program awards and final year dissemination awards is presented, along with new Mina Shaughnessy Scholars. For each new and continuation recipient, a statement of…

This paper reports on a small college's efforts to interest more psychology majors in research projects and to help all students enrolled in psychology courses improve their research and writing skills. Rather than have their students complete a literature review or term paper within the confines of one semester, faculty introduced a step-by-step…

A study used the Coursework Cluster Analysis Model to assess comparability of community college and lower-division courses taken by 76 transfer students and 168 "native" students at Southern University (Louisiana). Results indicate that the different student abilities and backgrounds and different institutions produced different kinds of…

Bloomfield College (New Jersey) and St. Norbert College (Wisconsin), both small, church-related liberal arts colleges, have supported diversity through organizational change, one with a degree and certification program for a specific Native American population, the other with a collegewide effort for faculty development, inclusive curriculum,…

This book presents a series of case studies in higher education which demonstrate how teams of academics have improved their practice, skill and conditions of learning and teaching through "action research." Action research is defined as collaborative critical enquiry by academics themselves into their own teaching practice, into problems of…

This collection of 34 essays provides an overview of the debates and reforms under discussion in regard to undergraduate curriculum. Part 1 focuses on the purposes and objectives of undergraduate education, reviewing pivotal historical developments, changes in the curriculum due to social and historical forces, and traditional and innovative…