Discusses the need for engineering students to develop good written and oral communication skills. Describes an effort underway in the civil engineering department at Youngstown State University (Ohio) to create a departmental policy that includes the emphasis of effective communication skills. Details some actions taken in developing the policy.…

Discusses some of the advantages of using overhead projectors to demonstrate chemistry experiments. Provides a list of guidelines and equipment for these types of demonstrations. Describes 21 simple demonstrations that can be done in chemistry classrooms that require minimal equipment and cost. (TW)

Provides information about academic careers in analytical chemistry, particularly at predominantly undergraduate institutions of higher education that specialize in education. Career benefits cited include flexibility, opportunities for research and professional involvement, and the atmosphere of a small college. (TW)

Differentiates between learning efficiency (enhancing the rate of learning) and learning effectiveness (enhancing the mastery and retention of facts, concepts, and relationships). Discusses some of the contributions of knowledge engineering to metalearning. Provides a concept map for constructing knowledge bases, along with some possible…

Describes the learning style inventory and learning cycle developed by David Kolb. Discusses the learning cycle's four stages as concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Offers an example from a chemical engineering class in which Kolb's ideas are used in an effort to improve instruction.…

Lists three overarching themes and 12 specific recommendations made as the result of the 1988 report of the Engineering Deans Council Task Force on the Engineering Student Pipeline. These guidelines were developed to help improve the performance and retention of undergraduates in engineering programs. (CW)

Details 26 experiments designed for use in secondary or college science classes. Includes activities for physical and biological sciences. Describes procedures, materials, safety, and analyses appropriate for each. (CW)

Argues that the field of inorganic chemistry is facing an identity crisis. Proposes that the current call for curriculum reform in inorganic chemistry is an opportunity to return to a stronger discipline. Presents a history of freshman chemical education and recommends a new program for inorganic chemistry. (TW)

Describes the interdisciplinary environmental education program at the University of Waterloo (Canada). Discusses the evolution of the program over the past decade, which is now a four-year honors program leading to a Bachelor of Environmental Studies Degree. Focuses on the departmental unit, interdisciplinary characteristics, and the program's…

Describes some of the environmental education programs underway at the University of Georgia, particularly those that deal with public policy issues. Discusses efforts underway on campus, as well as through the Cooperative Extension Service, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, and the continuing education center. (TW)

Describes the development of the graduate program at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse. Provides a student profile and outlines a new masters curriculum in environmental science. Explains the terminal options involving research, internship, and academic coursework. (TW)

Summarizes the findings of 22 case studies of environmental studies and environmental education programs at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. Compares the changes in these programs with respect to similar case studies written a decade earlier. (TW)

Calls for increasing the number of women into science and engineering professions, while improving the competitiveness of the United States at the same time. Suggests that more of the current statistics regarding women in these professions be publicized, and programs be initiated to actively recruit more women into these careers. (TW)

Discusses some of the potential for using computer-assisted interactive videodisks in teaching chemistry laboratory techniques. Describes an effort currently underway at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) where 18 interactive videodisk lessons dealing with kinetics, equilibrium and the behavior of gases have been developed. (TW)

Contains the text of an interview with the director of the Engineering Research Center (ERC) at the University of Delaware. Discusses interdisciplinary engineering research and its effects on traditional academic engineering. Describes the development and progress of the Delaware ERC, including eight recommendations for developing and operating…