This article addresses the issue of assessment and how it is becoming such a critical problem for higher education, especially for teachers of the liberal arts. While the common-sense goals of assessment are laudable, the actual consequences of the process are far from beneficial. It is suggested that ongoing assessment diverts teachers from…

Describes a system that involves randomly administered quizzes and offers suggestions for its implementation in classes of any size. Presents data in support of the effectiveness of this technique stating that students completed their assigned reading at impressive rates when motivated by randomly administered quizzes. (CMK)

Describes instructional use of brief first-person accounts of mental disorders. Explores the benefits of using first-person, autobiographical accounts as required reading in a course on abnormal psychology. Finds that first-person accounts were more helpful in increasing student appreciation of the experience of having a disorder and empathy for…

Focuses on the use of a Reader's Journal that involves students in writing informal responses to reading assignments for history courses. Explains that the Reader's Journal is used to improve students' reading of assignments. Discusses students' responses to the journal entry assignment and the challenges involved. (CMK)

This paper outlines a senior seminar, or "capstone" course, in computer science developed at the University of South Carolina at Spartanburg. It was intended that the senior seminar should differ in classroom format from other courses in the major. Course requirements include timed oral presentations, reading of science fiction in which…

Political scientists who teach African politics courses at U.S. colleges and universities were surveyed in 1973 to (1) discover successful teaching techniques, approaches, and texts; (2) determine the popularity of courses in African politics; and (3) collect data on the status of African politics as a research area. A questionnaire was mailed to…

The product of a course at the University of Pittsburgh, this book offers educators the opportunity to see how the acts of reading, writing, and thinking that characterize work in academia appear to those students who lack adequate preparation for such work--namely, basic writers. The introduction to the book presents an overview of the course and…

To identify specific instructional features prompting meaningful change among teacher candidates, this literature review evaluated studies that examined the influence of teacher education coursework on preservice teachers' conceptions and practices. Literature came from books and from journals published between 1992-96. The review examined whether…

Describes a course entitled "DNA and Evolution" in which students develop an appreciation for what science is and how it is practiced as well as an understanding of how some of the most central ideas in biology were developed and tested. Discusses the design of the course, the lecture and discussion topics, and the results and their…

Curriculum development efforts at Columbia University occurring as a result of social changes and four years of seminar discussions are analyzed, and the seminar transactions and resulting programs discussed. A detailed description is given of Columbia's General Education Program, established after World War I. It is shown how and why the original…

This manual provides information needed by students taking independent study courses (readings) in agricultural education, business education, home economics education, industrial education, or health occupations education as part of the Vocational Education Studies Program at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. The objectives of the…

Art English is a combination of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL)/English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) and art content. As a new instructional area, it faces several challenges: as with all English for Special Purposes (ESP), exchange of information among programs; development of a suitable combination of art content and ESL, due to lack of…

The comparative higher education course offered at the State University of New York at Buffalo is briefly described, and a course schedule is presented, including required and recommended readings for each topic. The course is intended to provide a broad cross-cultural perspective and considers the growth and development of universities in Europe,…