In last month's issue of "TPT," Michael Sobel turns our attention to the increasing number and broader population of students taking physics courses and urges us to reconsider how to better cater to their needs. We applaud the author for focusing our attention on this important issue. However, we find his proposal for teaching physics to…

Discusses how professional historians can make history relevant to college students who are not majoring in history. History teachers should stress the importance of not making generalizations based on inadequate facts. Teachers should help students understand the beliefs and assumptions which hold societies together and the need to understand and…

Claims that one goal of introductory college science courses should be to provide students with insights into what science is all about, and that this goal is important for science majors and nonmajors and should be able to be done effectively for both populations in one course. (MM)

Like any good story, the Sufi tale places the listener squarely in the midst of life; that is, precisely where learning takes place. The tale pointed out that learning can be both exhilarating and painful. In college classrooms, teachers (and their students) are spared neither of these emotions when they engage in the learning process. In this…

A course in breath-alcohol analysis, designed to introduce nonscience majors to the chemical basis of the two breath-alcohol testers widely used by law-enforcement personnel, is suggested for prospective lawyers, journalists, business professionals educators, and politicians. The course would provide exposure to authentic driving-while-intoxicated…

A chemistry teacher describes the elements of the ideal chemistry textbook. The perfect text is focused and helps students draw a coherent whole out of the myriad fragments of information and interpretation. The text would show chemistry as the central science necessary for understanding other sciences and would also root chemistry firmly in the…

Instructors can use interactive Java applets to present science in a concrete and meaningful manner to nonscience majors. This article shows how applets can take the place of laboratory work and gives examples and benefits of using applets. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

Regardless of how easy a course is made for nonscience majors, few attempts have been made to use students' abilities within the academic context to enhance their appreciation of science. The teaching of nonscience majors must be viewed by the science teacher as important as the teaching of science majors. (MLW)

Provides examples and a summary of the results of a survey completed by nonscience majors (n=57). Students provided information about the importance of chemistry to their majors and argued their point of view in a paper. (DDR)

Presents a description of "Americans in Paris," a course in English developed to attract nonlanguage majors to French Studies classes. The course focuses on American writers who lived in Paris between 1890 and 1955. Course content showcases input French professors can bring to this cross-disciplinary subject by examining American works…

To show students the interdisciplinary relevance of language study and to encourage non-language majors to study abroad in programs where English is not the principal language of instruction, interdisciplinary short-term study abroad programs were proposed. Offers evidence that short-term programs provide students with exposure to a foreign…

A proposed course featuring the teaching of chemistry to nonscience majors in the context of detective fiction is described. (MSE)

Argues for a restructuring of foreign language teaching methods with an increased emphasis on materials that could be useful in students' future careers. (FL)

Presents a study that investigated the significance of the octave-equivalence assumption, an essential assumption to the notion of "pitch class" and the analysis and pedagogy of all music in the Western tradition. Discusses development and organization of experimental items and describes the method of presentation. (GEA)

Offers perspectives on approaching and teaching a biology course for nonmajors. Proposes that teaching less may better prepare students to become more scientifically literate. Identifies areas and priorities that may effectively contribute to students' understanding of science. (JM)