Maintains that a course in U.S. political thought is necessary to increase students' knowledge of democracy, liberty, and human rights. Provides course goals, structure, and useful texts. Suggests a topical format rather than a chronological approach. Focuses on judicial opinions as an important indicator of traditional values. (RW)

Discussed is a method to teach undergraduate students how to complete a conceptual design. Presents three tools to use: (1) how to use order-of-magnitude arguments to simplify problems, (2) how to derive design heuristics, and (3) how to decompose large problems into a set of small, simple problems. (Author/MVL)

Describes an engineering course for graduate study in random media. Summarizes random media as bulk properties of ordered and disordered two-phase materials. Gives course outline for one semester. Topics include: disordered systems, microstructure determination, survey of models, connectivity, and effective properties. (MVL)

Maintains that helping to see the personal relevance of course material is an important instructional goal. Discusses student characteristics, instructor characteristics, and the use of discussion groups. Describes four strategies to personalize information presented in large lecture sessions. (CFR)

Discusses the inclusion of rules regarding classroom etiquette in an introductory college sociology course. Reports on rules regarding tardiness, leaving early, absenteeism, paying attention, and/or sleeping in class. Concludes that students and colleagues are generally positive about the approach. (CFR)

Asserts that public policy analysis has a time-honored tradition in civics education. Provides a four-part teachers' rationale for including the study of child-labor legislation in social studies courses. Includes a five-part classroom format for teaching public policy analysis. (CFR)

Describes a framework for effective unit planning directed at teachers of French in Canada. To be effective, language teachers must know societal and professional values written into the curriculum guidelines; the learner's needs, interests, and background; course content and the culture contributing to the course; and teaching methods and…

Describes the bachelor of arts program in applied language at the University of Brighton, England, which combines second-language learning and linguistics. The limitations of the program as it was originally conceived are examined, as well as recent improvements. Course objectives, content, and teaching methods are discussed. (17 references) (MDM)

Contends that, during the past generation, a new social history that concerns itself with the lives of ordinary people has changed history research and teaching. Describes an eight-unit college course in the history of United States sports. Includes a selected bibliography of books for students and teachers. (CFR)

Reviews the objectives and strategies of four faculty members for nurturing critical reasoning skills as a specific instructional component in introductory sociology courses. Describes results of a questionnaire assessing students' perceptions of the program. Concludes that most students reported an increase in critical reasoning skills. Discusses…

Argues that introductory sociology students need to be familiar with the basics of the entire research process and able to spot simple research errors. Urges teachers to devote time to teaching research methods, assign homework, and include research methods instruction throughout the course. Recommends use of extended research examples and…

Reports on a study of 96 undergraduate developmental psychology students and their performance on student-developed "pop quizzes." Students who participated in writing test items had significantly higher scores than students who did not. Calls for more research into the effectiveness of other student-developed evaluation methods. (CFR)

The preparation and format of debates that deal with environmental issues are presented. The educational pros and cons of such debates are discussed. A list of 30 suggested environmental debate topics and a reproducible debate evaluation form are provided. (KR)

A teacher describes his efforts to apply the Foxfire approach in a graduate course for teachers on integrating community resources into the curriculum. In an atmosphere of cooperative learning and teamwork, the graduate students produced a guide to using ordinary people and places as learning resources. (SV)

This article discusses the benefits that can be derived from implementing adaptive computer training for visually impaired individuals in a group setting, independent from direct job placement concerns. Three student histories demonstrate the advantages of this approach to students' competence, self-esteem, and awareness of career options. (JDD)