Introductory classes are often a student's first exposure to foundational knowledge, careers, and faculty in an academic major. The characteristics of introductory exercise science courses, as well as faculty impressions of course benefits and areas for improvement, were explored in this study. Electronic survey data from 181 universities around…

This study compared student impressions of a text-rich contractual syllabus to a graphic-rich engaging syllabus. Students enrolled in sections of an undergraduate introductory nutrition course viewed either a contractual or engaging syllabus and completed a survey regarding their perceptions of the course and instructor. Students perceived both…

This paper presents a series of novel project-based learning labs for an introductory robotics course that are developed into a semester-long Robotic Decathlon. The last three events of the Robotic Decathlon are used as three final one-week-long project tasks; these replace a previous course project that was a semester-long robotics competition.…

An introductory preclinical course in family medicine developed at Duke University is described. Student response to the course indicates that it had a positive effect upon student attitudes toward the important health care issues encountered in family practice. (JMD)

Reports on an analysis of student evaluations of an introductory college-level physical geology course over a five year period. Indicates that instructional and pedagogical traits were assessed as being of importance in contributing to the satisfaction of the students with the course. (TW)

A report of a cooperative project involving a university instructional development center and a history department discusses the process of working with students in course redesign, analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of this kind of student involvement, and concludes with recommendations for future projects. The purpose of the project is to…

Presents a syllabus for an undergraduate introductory course on political science. Includes an analysis and rationale of the course organization and materials from the instructor. Discusses the educational goals and objectives of the course and how these are met. Reprints instructions for the final required paper. (MJP)

A new look at the standard lecture/discussion format for the large introductory college course is offered, along with suggestions to upgrade its quality. Foci for improvement include organization of lecture material, teacher-student interaction, lecture delivery, feedback, discussion group supervision, and course evaluation. (JMD)

This document examines the educational output of three alternative approaches to introductory macroeconomics at the University of Notre Dame. The framework for evaluation consists of the cognitive and affective tradeoffs entailed by using a new experimental course as opposed to two more traditional courses. The experimental course is a freshman…

Presents a syllabus for an introductory political science course. Includes a course outline, description, list of textbooks and readings, requirements, and grading policy. The course is structured in thematic units including the context of politics, acting in politics, the work of government, and alternative arenas of government. (MJP)

The paper discusses the choice of world history as a foundation course in the liberal arts college at Denison University, Ohio. It discusses why world history was chosen as a required course over the standard, introductory course, Western Civilization, compulsory in the 1960s. It also describes the kind and design of the world history course…

The design, implementation, and evaluation of a self-paced course in first-year college French are described, focusing on student choice in deciding which of four language skills (listening/speaking, writing, reading, or culture) they would concentrate on. Considered are course organization, use of assistants and student tutors, and course…

Since Spring 1969, Prince George's Community College (Maryland) has offered a team-taught, interdisciplinary course incorporating economics, geography, and political science in an introduction to social science for technical education students. As the course was originally designed, each of the instructors of the three disciplines was given a…