Getting faculty to accept specific suggestions and put them into practice is discussed. Creating a pool of good ideas about teaching and using experienced consultants to help faculty adopt some of these ideas are suggested. Student and faculty questionnaires and an example of a teaching idea packet are included. (MLW)

Issues and developments in instructional development and evaluation are discussed including: a comprehensive system of instructional evaluation needs to be established with various components differentially weighted at the departmental level; student ratings should be only one of the components; instructional development consultants should provide…

An annotated bibliography on instructional evaluation and improvement is presented. The bibliography was compiled with an explicit bias toward the inclusion of articles that applied methodological techniques that are relatively uncommon in the instructional literature. (MLW)

Reviews the use of computers in the teaching and practice of writing in university courses. Highlights include hardware considerations; software options for grammar, punctuation, stylistic analysis, and prewriting (or invention) skills; artificial intelligence, composition, and literature; collaborative learning; and faculty development. (LRW)

A study of 12 university teachers' approaches to improving instruction found two types of change occurring, innovation and tinkering. The most powerful influences in stimulating and sustaining change appeared to be personal sources of satisfaction with teaching, sense of responsibility for student learning, and academic culture. (MSE)

Relates part-time faculty effectiveness to recruitment and selection, orientation, supervision and support, evaluation, and professional development opportunities. Recommends improved communication and interaction between part-time faculty and administrators. (DMM)

A program promoting international education in South Dakota's rural elementary schools has provided staff development opportunities and assistance in curriculum modification based on information about the status of international education in the schools and student knowledge of the world. The program succeeds where key teachers and administrators…

Lists barriers that limit the recruitment of women from the existing pool of eligible women into engineering programs. Discusses several components that are important to successful recruitment of women. Uses the program at Purdue as a successful example. Suggests special steps for faculty and administrators to follow. (CW)

A survey of 129 institutions offering graduate programs in gifted education found: a wide variety of admission requirements; common emphases on research, psychological needs, creative studies, and curriculum development; existence of resource centers for many institutions; and concerns about teacher certification and professional and inservice…

The development of the Castleton State College faculty computer literacy training program is described. Early attempts at training focused on the technology, but lost sight of the psychological variables that served as impediments to participation in the program. The peer involvement project is described. (Author/ MLW)

Only nine of 306 public, four-year colleges/universities reported teacher training course(s) devoted solely to study of rural/small schools. Most of the 87 including rural education as part of curriculum did so only as special topic of general course. Only 93 of 306 institutions reported faculty pursuing rural education interests. (NEC)

Outlines strategies for running a successful faculty workshop dealing with computers, such as: (1) make participation optional; (2) focus only on what an instructor needs to know to write and teach using a computer; (3) give word processing instruction individually; (4) present computer uses as possibilities, not as correct answers; and (5)…

Describes a questionnaire designed to obtain information on faculty members' judgments about their own skills in various activities--teaching, research, writing, service, and administration--and the importance of these activities. The goal of this survey was to identify those activities for which there was the greatest need for faculty…

Finds that the level of convergence in teachers' beliefs is sensitive to local environmental forces: heterogeneity of students, size of administrative staff, and the community's social class. Examines the influence of environmental and internal school factors on convergence and explores which conditions increase that influence, including reliance…

Approaches to developing the college curriculum and teaching techniques to cultivate or enhance the student's capacity for abstract logical reasoning are discussed, and their implications for testing and faculty development are explored briefly. (MSE)