Describes and evaluates whether students could be more motivated to learn, acquire more skills, and exhibit higher course satisfaction by assessing students in two sections of a weather and climate course where only one section used real-time weather data. Reveals that inclusion of the real-time weather data positively affected learning and…

Discusses teaching current events in sociology with a focus on events in the mass media and the responses of students to those events. Describes three teaching strategies recommended for teaching current events because they enable students to understand the media's role in society. Includes references. (CMK)

Discusses a thematic approach that can be used to integrate service learning into the introductory sociology curriculum. Describes the different institutional contexts that may influence its effectiveness, the course content and objectives, the service-learning component, use of themes, and student outcomes. (CMK)

With America at war, schools struggle to help students understand cause and effect of conflict. Interviewed in early March, some teachers say they try not to let impressionable adolescents know how they feel about the controversial American policy on use of force in Iraq. Others say that while they present both sides of the issue, it is only right…

Reports results of a nationwide survey of first-year experience (FYE) courses for college freshmen to determine whether FYE course curricula contained a library component, especially information literacy. Discusses who develops the library component, who teaches it, course content, and the role that libraries and librarians play. (Author/LRW)

This study uses a computer log is to evaluate now online content is consumed and to identify individual differences among students in terms of content usage and the amount of content presented in Web-supported course sites. Findings show the amount of content accessed is very high, but large differences exist among students. (Author/AEF)

Focuses on teaching sociology to prisoners, the benefits of teaching prisoners, and the experience of teaching the courses to prisoners. Addresses how the author took the experience of teaching prison students into traditional undergraduate courses. Highlights the implications for teaching sociology. (CMK)

Presents the results of a study that examined the teaching of sociology at the high school level in New York state. Explores specifically the offering of sociology courses, course profiles, and the teacher backgrounds, attitudes, and satisfaction. Reports that sociology is not frequently taught in New York state high schools. (CMK)

Describes the use of a learning community where 36 first-year students cohabitated in a single hall of student housing and enrolled in the class, "The American Political System", and a first-year seminar. Discusses the course content, the benefits of the community experience, and how to improve the community. (CMK)

Discusses how to use art in introductory political theory courses. Provides examples of incorporating art to teach political theory, such as examining Machiavelli's "The Prince" and Michelangelo's "David" to understand Florentine (Florence, Italy) political theory. (CMK)

Focuses on the industrialization and economic development section of the Advanced Placement (AP) human geography course, addressing four specific aspects: (1) the character of industrialization; (2) spatial aspects of the rise of industrial economies; (3) contemporary global patterns of industrialization and resource extraction; and (4) impacts of…

Describes a congressional committee simulation used in an introductory U.S. politics course. Explains the simulation enabled students to discover how Congress operates. Discusses the outcomes of the simulation, student responses, and recommendations for using it in upper-level courses. Includes the personality descriptions for the commerce…

Describes an art project in which noodles, the tubular colorful foam floating devices used in swimming pools, were the subject matter. Explains that the students drew their compositions, stretched the paper, and then used watercolor to paint their compositions. Discusses the process in detail. (CMK)

Examining National Center for Health statistics, questions whether fictional television accounts of teenage suicide affect the teenage suicide rate. Assesses four films about teenage suicide, nationally televised in 1984 and 1985. Accounts for holiday and temporal effects, television new stories, and large city influences. Finds that the films did…

A two-year postsecondary program in New York City prepares low functioning young adults with learning disabilities for careers in human services such as day care programs and geriatric centers. Students take courses in social skills as well as academic course work and on-the-job training in child care or geriatrics. (DB)