Describes an undergraduate seminar where each student's central task was to select a specific social movement/social change organization, collect data on it, and write a 20-page sociological analysis. The results were disappointing, with most students presenting a historical chronology accompanied by a compilation of facts. Discusses possible…

Presents a syllabus for an introductory political science course. Includes a course outline, description, list of textbooks and readings, requirements, and grading policy. The course is structured in thematic units including the context of politics, acting in politics, the work of government, and alternative arenas of government. (MJP)

Discusses a class project where students use content analysis techniques to examine societal trends of stereotyping in the media. Outlines the steps involved in this research methodology and indicates criteria that instructors could use for evaluation. Includes a table identifying tasks and research skills associated with each stage of the…

Describes a research project in which the students examine data showing the income disparity between men and women. The students decide on which sociological theories might explain this discrepancy and devise a study to test this hypothesis. Includes instructions for the assignment and guidelines for cooperative learning. (MJP)

Considers women authors' significant and influential contributions to nature writing. Although largely ignored in recent years, women nature writers have played a prominent role in this field beginning with James Fenimore Cooper's daughter, Susan. Discusses her works, as well as those of Gene Stratton Porter, Rachel Carson, and others. (MJP)

Presents a model for a course on information literacy that was developed by librarians at California State University at San Marcos. Topics include the role of the library in higher education reform; active learning activities; convincing faculty and administrators of the need for information literacy courses; and future implementation. (LRW)

Presents a lesson plan that utilizes the study of Asian Americans in Hawaii to help students to develop the critical faculties needed to detect stereotyping and bias. Students create presentations on popular images of Hawaii. Later, they produce more critical and better researched presentations on the island and its inhabitants. (MJP)

Undergraduate nursing education in the United Kingdom is now at the university level, either through incorporation into universities or in semiautonomous colleges. This has required considerable cultural adjustment and created challenges, particularly with greater interaction of nursing with psychology, sociology, and biology. Changes are examined…

Four articles address rising college tuition: "An Inside Look at How a Private University Sets Tuition Rates and Spends the Money"; "Comparisons of Tuition Rates Raise Tough Policy Questions"; "At Public Colleges, the Tuition Debate Is a Mix of Philosophy and Practicality"; and "Do Federal Loans Encourage Tuition Increases?" Data on undergraduate…

Describes procedures used to establish, promote, and implement an undergraduate research experience that included financial sponsorship by local business and government agencies. This sponsorship allowed students to apply psychological theory and methods to problems outside of academia. Students produced reports and gave formal presentations to…

William P. Hytche opened a successful campus diner at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore while a faculty member. Later, as chancellor, he expanded the historically black university substantially to keep it from merging, becoming a community college, or closing, and garnered support in surrounding communities. The retiring administrator has…

Examines the catalog descriptions of 42 undergraduate psychology programs in North Carolina. Reveals that minimum introductory and methodological requirements consists of one-term introductory, statistics, and experimental design courses. A required integrated experience was most often a history and systems course or senior seminar. This is…

Reviews a teaching exercise that highlights ethical and ecological issues through the systematic critical analysis of a technical land reclamation project. Students are encouraged to examine their own motivation for advocating particular solutions, to consider the value systems implicit in solutions, and to examine environmental actions in…

Recounts a portfolio writing assignment designed to help students develop better study skills, increase metacognitive awareness, and use self-reflection to evaluate their performance during the semester. Students completed surveys and journal entries assessing their strategies for reading and studying, as well as, performance goals, emotional…

Reveals a need for concern on the part of social studies educators about the attitudes of preservice elementary teachers towards social studies. Many preservice elementary teachers evince little interest, and even some hostility, toward the subject. Recommends various strategies for correcting this. (MJP)