An in-service teacher training course is described, designed for teachers of a new course in sixth-grade science, and presented partly by mobile teams and partly by radio. Planning of the content and presentation of the teacher training was done by a committee of five teachers and two others. (CTM)

The Personalized System of Instruction, known as the Keller Plan, is compared with the mastery learning approach. Learning concepts of both are discussed, as well as differences, difficulties, and effectiveness of each method. (SA)

Inflated college grades reflect an underlying problem: inappropriate content, modes of presentation, and modes of assessment. Many popular assumptions about how to address the question of standards (modifying transcripts, freeing teachers from external pressure, using grades as an indicator of quality) emphasize grades rather than standards.…

Provides details of writing assignments used in science and technology classes. Students select a technology, research its historical development, and then comment on the use of the technology. A list of concepts that are distributed to students is included. (DDR)

Describes a classroom technique designed to inject an interactive discussion framework into the classroom and to focus students' attention on reading and absorbing information from a textbook. (DDR)

A survey of 130 rural community pharmacists in Washington State found 70% in towns with five or fewer pharmacies; almost all provided nutrition information to their communities though only 20% had taken a nutrition course during pharmacy training. Most common questions concerned supplements and weight loss. Respondents relied on pharmacy journals,…

Describes use of logic models to teach critical thinking skills in social work. By breaking down the helping process into parts, logic modeling enables students to approach the clinical experience as a whole and understand causal relationships between parts. Students are exposed to theory-practice connections and made aware of reciprocal…

A system of course analysis was developed and used to code and compare faculty research, courses, and library materials in the Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics departments of the University of South Carolina. The purpose is to provide a guide in determining how well the library's collection supports the academic needs of these departments. (10…

Describes an attempt to analyze and improve the connection between intermediate microeconomic theory courses and applied theory courses. Examines the data collection, policy analysis, program design, and materials production stages of this process. Includes a table of most-valued microeconomic skills compared with allocation of time to teach those…

The impacts of instructor gender and race on student evaluations of teaching effectiveness, particularly when courses contained controversial content, were studied with 190 undergraduates. No support was found for the hypothesis that students would rate women and minority instructors lower, but the same material was thought to be more…

Reflection on religious issues is an essential part of education. In secular colleges and universities, religious topics under study should be highlighted, with discussion, challenges, and critique encouraged, not dismissed or ignored. Faculty should openly express their convictions when relevant to the subject or a student's concern. Dialogue can…

Traditional approaches to defining academic quality (reputational, resources, and outcomes or value-added) are criticized as not providing useful information. An alternative perspective is offered, focusing on fundamental course-level academic processes and defining the quality of such processes as the level of understanding of course content…

A survey of 148 faculty, teaching international financial management, investigated the frequently used teaching methods, sources of information for lectures, ratings of course topic importance, and level of support given to faculty wishing to strengthen their instruction and research. Overall, most respondents were satisfied with the curricular…

A five-year longitudinal study of undergraduate use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) found that student attitudes were stable, despite technological change; student expectations had increased; and student utilization of CMC was still primarily for course-related information. The study concluded that CMC can be best used as a complement…

Argues that the current approach to needs analysis research in English for academic purposes (EAP) needs to be replaced with critical needs analysis that views the target situation as an opportunity for curriculum development. The article concludes that EAP classes can be agents for social change. (26 references) (Author/CK)