Interdisciplinary field study courses at 2-year colleges can provide an opportunity to enhance student learning. The authors present here an 11-day interdisciplinary field-study course designed for nonscience majors at a 2-year college. Using a theoretical learning framework that emphasizes cognitive and metacognitive gains, the field study…

Describes Hinds Junior College's (HJC's) staff development program for part-time faculty which involves an initial orientation session and subsequent modules focusing on teaching in general and at HJC, testing and grading, media usage, and student characteristics. Discusses participants' reactions to the program. (DMM)

Views today's learning resources centers as information networks as well as instructional support systems. Calls for acknowledgement and promotion of these roles in future strategic planning for resource allocation. Feels that standardization of databases and access will expand future opportunities for networking and resource sharing with other…

Describes the Courseware Development Center at Tulsa Junior College (Oklahoma), which serves as a network hub for statewide sharing of locally developed audiovisual and microcomputer software. Considers the center's three major components: an electronic bulletin board, a courseware database, and a newsletter for instructional designers. (DMM)

Describes the success of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development's "Innovation Abstracts," a weekly publication written by and for practitioners. Suggests that the publication's success has spread beyond its originally intended audience to faculty, students, trustee and advisory boards, community residents,…

Describes the Hinz model for integrating the library, educational media, and instructional development functions of the learning resources program, highlighting the three stages of program development. Explains how Pensacola Junior College's instructional program could be reorganized and become more fully integrated by using the model. (CBC)

Describes a study examining approaches of community college faculty to curriculum planning and teaching and modifications they have made in curricula to meet societal changes. Indicates that vocational faculty were more outwardly directed than academic faculty and that the amount and depth of course revision slows with teacher experience. (17…

Contends that community colleges need to move from the comfort of the instruction paradigm to that of the learning paradigm for the next century. Asserts that a curriculum based on learner outcomes can be created with the aid of new technology and well-trained faculty. Proposes suggestions for making the transformation to become a learner-centered…

Describes Jackson Community College's drop-in instructional development center, which houses modules developed jointly by library-based instructional developers and instructors on such topics as college policies and procedures, instructional planning and methods, measuring achievement, and retention and transfer of learning. Includes a sample…

Describes North Carolina's model of community college faculty development that coordinates the improvement of curricula and instruction with professional development activities. Discusses the strategy of basing projects at individual colleges while targeting single curriculum areas statewide and lists curriculum improvement projects since 1985.…

Reports on Jim Jacobs and Roberta Teahen's efforts to develop a systematic approach of integrating career and academic education. The movement began in 1995 with representatives from four Michigan community colleges. Presents examples from various colleges across Michigan that demonstrate success in curriculum integration. (VWC)

Enumerates some of the unconventional and innovative activities of the community college learning resources center (LRC). Delineates the guidelines established by two professional associations for the LRC, and outlines steps for fulfilling its identified role. Suggests future trends in the areas of audiovisual services, software collections,…

Discusses TopClass, a Web-based tool and delivery system used for online courses, and its use at Schoolcraft College in Michigan. TopClass offers many benefits, including a self-contained management system, secured access, user-friendly instructions for coursework area creation, e-mail, bulletin boards, a secured testing mechanism and student…

Presents a cross-sectional, quantitative descriptive study that examined community college professors' attitudes toward online learning. Results indicated that instructors realize the large role of technology and its potential to contribute to increased learning. Confidence in their computer skills was high, and they felt that the increased time…

Employs personal in-depth interviews as a first step in helping faculty to develop quality curricula by allowing them to articulate their instructional needs. Reveals three general themes: preliminary course-design considerations, instructional delivery methods, and faculty instructional needs. Discusses implications for expanding teaching…