Based on a survey conducted during the Persian Gulf War, a study focused on political views and war attitudes of faculty who direct college honors programs. Academic disciplines and age distributions are analyzed as possible explanations for directors' greater liberalism and dissent tendencies compared to other faculty. Also discussed are…

Examines the use of innovative collaborative small group activities in a Medieval History undergraduate honors course. Discusses student evaluations and feedback from a focus group to investigate the use of group exercises that involve the construction of three-dimensional models of medieval towns and the use of self-assessment. (Author/LRW)

Describes and evaluates the Mathematics Workshop Program (MWP), which recruits first-year students of all races but typically enrolls primarily minority students. Data clearly suggest that MWP has succeeded in promoting high levels of academic performance among African American mathematics students. (AF)

Draws from the experiences of Brookhaven College in Texas to offer recommendations for establishing and operating an honors program at a community college. Presents guidelines regarding administrative organization, clerical needs, selection of qualified faculty, student eligibility requirements, program evaluation, and funding. (DMM)

Participants in a fast-paced mathematics course and qualified nonparticipants were surveyed 10 years later with respect to undergraduate record, graduate experience, attitudes toward mathematics/science, and self-esteem. In general, participation was associated with stronger undergraduate records for all students and with more advanced graduate…

A high school geometry teacher studied the alternative assessment literature, developed and tried alternative assessments such as portfolios in the classroom, evaluated students' and parents' satisfaction levels with these methods, and got feedback from those involved. While students initially had mixed reactions, over 90% of parents supported…

Identifies behaviors of professors and students that might facilitate or hinder the teaching-learning process. Analyzes questionnaire responses of students from two groups (university honors students and students with learning disabilities) and compares them with those of traditional students from a 1997 study. Offers recommendations for dealing…

Considers the suitability of criteria-specific rating scales in the selection of high school students for participation in an honors ensemble. Criteria-specific music-performance rating scales include written descriptions of specific levels of performance rather than simple numerical notations. Concludes that these scales can be used with…

The classified honours degree has so much prestige and so venerable a tradition that only very serious and systemic changes could justify the question as to whether classification has a future. However, while this paper argues that such changes have indeed taken place in the past 30 years, the main arguments for change are pedagogical. The…

The percentage of students taking more challenging courses in high school is dramatically higher now than in the early 1980s. The growth in number of students and schools participating in Advanced Placement (AP) courses is equally dramatic. AP courses are designed by college faculty and by experienced high school faculty. They are an example of…

In order to better meet the needs of a diverse and rapidly changing service area, the North Harris Montgomery Community College District (NHMCCD), in Texas, began in the late 1980's to initiate improvements in the areas of instructional methods, student services, community outreach, and technological support. Instructional changes have included…

This paper describes an honors program developed by the University of South Carolina at Aiken to increase educational opportunities for the academically well-qualified and highly motivated student. The paper focuses on participation in the program by the speech communication faculty. Students who qualify for the program contract with individual…

This study investigated the amount of structure preferred by college students in a learning environment and evaluated responses using a notion of conceptual level. The theory of conceptual level suggests that students at higher conceptual levels prefer more independence and less structure in learning while students at lower conceptual levels…

The History of Great Ideas is an interdisciplinary seminar course for sophomore honor students at North Arkansas Community Technical College that teaches the intellectual history of western civilization. Each semester, students study 14 ideas from science, philosophy, history, religion, sociology, and economics to discover how philosophical…

This paper describes Pennsylvania's Bucks County Community College's (BCCC's) current practices for recruiting better-prepared students as a preface to several suggestions for new approaches to improve the recruitment effort. Although a nationwide survey of young people indicated that 60% felt two-year institutions were on a par with four-year…