An attempt to portray the nature of the learning task in university engineering courses is presented. Introductory courses are described first and are then compared to the upper level courses. Emphasis is put on three introductory courses to determine what skills students bring into the introductory course, what the learning task is, and how…

The TeachScheme! Project aims to reform three aspects of introductory programming courses in secondary schools. First, we use a design method that asks students to develop programs in a stepwise fashion such that each step produces a well-specified intermediate product. Second, we use an entire series of sublanguages, not just one. Each element of…

Presented is a report on a course for undergraduate students which is designed to increase their intellectual abilities early in their college careers. The report gives the characteristics of concrete thought and formal reasoning, followed by an explanation of the process involved in data collecting and the data itself. The authors suggest that…

Describes a method of integrating a course syllabus with a field geological inventory of the surrounding area. Consists of three modules, each with a preparatory unit, field trip, and summary unit. Discusses first hand experiences, learning cycles, novelty factors, and moving from the concrete to abstract. (MVL)