Discusses the use of a set of experiments to provide undergraduate electrical engineering students with a knowledge of the state of the art in modern coherent optics from an engineering standpoint. (CC)

Reviews properties of nerves, analogous networks in propagation of electrical signals in axons, and regenerative changes in membrane permeability due to propagation of the action potential, which can be explained in the noncalculus physics course. (CC)

Presents the position statement of the Committee on Physics in Two-Year Colleges concerning the use of computers in physics teaching. Indicates that technical assistance is available upon request. (CC)

Describes a program in applied biology in which the simulation of the production of penicillin in a batch fermentor is used as a teaching technique to give students experience before handling a genuine industrial fermentation process. Details are given for the calculation of minimum production cost. (JR)

Discusses the characteristics of the Physics Activities Center established by the Kansas State University Department of Physics with the purpose of providing students the opportunities to "do their own thing". Included is a summary of its practical applications and a description of student reactions. (CC)

Discusses the value of computer assisted instruction, and provides the results of a study on the effectiveness of computer assisted instruction in a nutrition course at Syracuse University. (JR)

Reports the results of a study to determine the extent and content of courses in biological literature offered to graduate students in American universities. (JR)

Attempts to identify common assumptions which underlie introductory courses in organic chemistry, and relates these to some learning difficulties experienced by students. (Author/JR)

Discusses a random self-paced examination which is designed to increase the number of high scores by making explicit the problems to be solved. Indicates that the novel examination is a useful part of the performance-grading method, rather than the competitive-grading method. (CC)

Discusses the technique of producing a grating with a spacing of 1 micron and 5 slits 50 microns long and 0.3 micron wide. Indicates that the slits are suitable for use in examination of electron diffraction patterns in the Gedanken experiment. (CC)

Presents fundamentals of the glassy state which can serve as an introductory, phenomenological, and nonmathematical exposure to undergraduates in at most two lectures. Suggests the use of the material following students' acquisition of an elementary knowledge of thermodynamics, liquids, and the crystalline state. (CC)

Discusses the procedures of conducting skill sessions in the teaching of physics to undergraduates. Indicates that the interim method can help students in acquiring necessary skills to solve problems but needs further improvement to become more useful. (CC)