Experimental instructional projects and educational programs generated by teachers at the Big Ten universities and the University of Chicago are described. Department-based projects include the following: introductory botany for nonscience students, University of Illinois, Urbana; futuristic and technological approaches to nonmajor biology, Ohio…

Four bibliographies pertaining to adult learning and the humanities are presented. The literature search concentrated on materials from the ERIC system, and the bibliographies contain a list of annotated materials followed by a list of citations, which are identified by ED or EJ numbers. In "Adult Learning as a Marketable Product," materials…

Fall 1979 activities for Project Outreach, a faculty development program at Jersey City State College, are described. Problems involved in carrying out these activities, a statement of expenditures and balances, and a set of recommendations are covered. Four areas of activity planned at the college were: a second series of study skills seminars, a…

If no radical changes occur over the next 10 years in the aggregate relationships among college-age cohort sizes, enrollment figures and ratios of doctoral faculty-to-students, the mid-l980's and mid-l900's will see precipitous, but probably temporary declines in the demand for new Ph.D. faculty. Without the implementation of policies designed to…

An in-depth study was conducted of instructional improvement activities at Kansas State University, including a student evaluation instrument of teacher performance, called Instructional Development and Effectiveness Assessment (IDEA). Faculty reactions to the total evaluation system, the use of results for multiple purposes, and the current…

Faculty roles in ten individualized education programs that focus attention on student needs and interests as articulated in face-to-face discussions with faculty are examined. The programs include those at: Metropolitan State University (Minnesota); Florida International University; Grand Valley State Colleges (Michigan); New College of The…

Although general education is supported philosophically by local institutions and by the state and national governments, students in Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education (VTAE) systems often express doubts about the usefulness and relevance of required general education courses. Frequently, conflict between general education instructors and…

A college personnel policy developed to respond to changing conditions has 10 elements: establishment of a master planning process, policy and procedures review, early retirement, extended leave, recruitment and hiring of new faculty, flexible benefits, productivity and career development, internship opportunities, faculty renewal opportunities,…

Creating ways to make a discipline come alive for those who are not experts--even for students who may not take more than one or two courses in the disciplines they study--requires rigorous thought about what really matters in a field and how to engage students in the practice of it. Faculty from Alverno College representing a range of liberal…

"Write in the Middle: A Workshop for Middle School Teachers" is an eight-part professional development workshop designed to help teachers learn effective practices and strategies to use with middle school students in writing instruction. Through classroom footage of excellent teachers modeling successful strategies and interviews with teachers,…

The inclusion of online learning technologies into the higher education (HE) curriculum is frequently associated with the design and development of new models of learning. One could argue that e-learning even demands a reconfiguration of traditional methods of learning and teaching. One of the key elements of this transformational process is…

This study investigated differences among professional staff members' commitment to continuous learning and improvement in high-performing schools differentiated by student academic performance and disaggregated by race and socioeconomic status. A total of 48 high-performing schools were identified by Kentucky Department of Education staff based…

"A Focus on Professional Development" is the fourth in the Research-Based Practices in Early Reading Series published by the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) at Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL). Because reading proficiency is fundamental to student achievement across all subjects and grades, the preparation of the teachers…

During the 2004-05 school year, SRI International, an independent research firm, launched a fourth comprehensive round of data collection. They conducted analyses of statewide teacher data to follow trends in teacher distribution over time and to document changes in California's teacher development policies and programs. They also collected…

This collection of papers is divided into two parts. After "Introduction" (L. Kathy Heilenman), Part 1, "Research and Language Program Directors: The Relationship," includes "Research Domains and Language Program Direction" (Bill VanPatten); "Language Program Direction and the Modernist Agenda" (Celeste…