The comparative effectiveness of different types of instructors' notes provided during lectures of varying complexity was examined. Ninety-four undergraduates (sophomores and juniors) at a large Midwestern university were presented with 2 taped lectures, each about 60 minutes long. The first lecture was a fact-based description of instructional…

Considerations that affect the type of teaching method employed in undergraduate studies and medical schools are addressed, with attention to the current emphasis on the lecture method and alternative educational experiences that require students to be active, independent learners and problem solvers. Perceived academic priorities and the…

A study of the communication skill needs of the foreign teaching associate (TA) in American universities focused on two questions: (1) What does a foreign TA do to communicate information in an American classroom in terms of comunication strategies and devices for cohesion and coherence of discourse? and (2) How does this compare with the way an…

This chapter explains how the Guided Design method of teaching can be used to solve problems, and how this method was used in the development of a new method of teaching. Called the Feedback Lecture, this method is illustrated through an example, and research data on its effectiveness is presented. The Guided Decision-Making Process is also…

The relationship between opinions toward arms control and certain related beliefs was examined in two studies involving interventions designed to change those beliefs. In study 1, 131 college students who attended a "Psychology of the Nuclear Arms Race" lecture and 98 students who did not attend the lecture completed a 20-item questionnaire…

This booklet is the first of three sequels to "A Guide to the Selection of Instructional Methods." Following a brief introduction, a discussion of the most common methods used in mass instructional techniques deals with the strenghts and weaknesses of lectures and similar expository techniques, film and video presentations, educational broadcasts,…

Arguing that high attrition rates and low grades in trigonometry classes underscore the need for changes in the approach to trigonometry instruction, these papers suggest an instructional model and present a proposal for its adoption at the College of San Mateo (CSM). The first paper begins with the argument that students' lack of preparation for…

Courses using a Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) have proliferated in the past decade. Researchers have explored various factors related to PSI, but rarely, if ever, have students' study habits or preferences been considered. A questionnaire examining the study habits, exam preferences and attitudes toward various instructional formats was…

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING TAPE-RECORDED LECTURES AS A PART OF AN INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM IN SPEECH WAS INVESTIGATED. SPECIFIC QUESTIONS RAISED WERE--(1) CAN TAPE-RECORDED LECTURES BE UTILIZED AS A MEANS OF IMPROVING EFFICIENCY AND QUALITY, (2) CAN THE RECORDED LECTURES LAST THE LENGTH OF USUAL CLASS PERIODS, (3) WILL WORKBOOKS IMPROVE STUDENT…

Note-taking at college lectures is believed to provide an external memory device for review and to require the student to encode the learning material into a personally meaningful form. A closer examination of the kinds of notes made and used by students may help to explain the relationship between the note-taking process and individual…

An analysis and discussion are presented of observations of 27 different first lecture situations at the University of New South Wales at the beginning of 1978. The analysis was intended to provide teachers with a range of data about what occurred during first lectures in schools other than their own, and to highlight the potential impact of the…

This guide to creative procedures for improving teaching adult church groups deals with the following: (1) steps in planning for instructional and learning experiences in adult groups; (2) techniques for admitting new ideas into a class; (3) using personal creativity through such means as role-playing, real-life experiences, brainstorming,…

Research designed to compare student satisfaction between a traditional-lecture psychology course and a personalized system of instruction (PSI) course is described. Students compared two identical courses in personality taught by the same instructor. Students were generally more satisfied with the PSI course. The results are that they found the…

This study surveyed and described the organizational administration, faculty, and curriculum in the field of English at 22 church-related liberal arts colleges in Tennessee. To obtain information about the English programs, interviews were used, as well as school catalogs, questionnaires, and visits to the schools. Some of the findings were that…

The purposes of this study were to examine the degree of comprehension shown by a group of college students when listening to a lecture at the normal rate of 175 words per minute and at the time-compressed rate of 275 words per minute for forty minutes, and to assess students' attitudes toward the new medium of time-compressed speech by means of a…