U.S. colleges and universities have been demonstrably ineffective at facilitating scholarship among their students. To become effective, psychological science suggests institutions must tap students' intrinsic motivations and address their core values from Day 1 through graduation. This article describes a science-based, integrated set of…

One of the most illuminating finds in Barbara E. Walvoord's "Teaching and Learning in College Introductory Religion Courses" (2008) is what she calls "the great divide," a mismatch between instructors' goals for their courses, which are academic, and the students' reasons for taking them, which relate to their personal…

While computational biology and bioinformatics became an inherent part of most life science degrees, it remains challenging to encourage students to employ these diverse skills in a practical research context. In this education paper, we present a method to enable students to acquire hands-on skills by the data-driven study of complex biomolecular…

Limited research exists on effective teaching methods in university physical activity instruction (PAI) program courses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate PAI courses taught utilizing a sport education curriculum and instructional model. The Individual Development and Educational Assessment (IDEA) teaching evaluation was administered to…

Describes a strategy approach to engineering education which stresses student involvement in teaching-learning processes. Includes the learning continuum for use by teachers reviewing their dominant teaching methods. (CC)

Two schools of thought exist with regard to the goals of humanities instruction. The "university orientation" places an emphasis upon impersonal, intellectual, and purely academic objectives. The "liberal arts orientation" maintains that humanities instruction should contribute to the beliefs, values, expectations, attitudes, fears, emotions, and…

Summarizes the results of a survey that revealed several dichotomies between what instructors felt introductory psychology courses delivered and what students wanted. Students desired a knowledge of people and relationships while the instructors felt the courses provided a broad overview of the discipline. Includes statistical data and analysis.…

Argues that the bulk of most undergraduate psychology curriculum is geared towards preparing students for graduate study. Proposes several specific curriculum changes designed to give the general undergraduate a working and useful knowledge of some of the fundamental concepts concerning psychology. Includes course outlines and structured…

This program focuses on the elective English programs which are, in whole or in part, replacing traditional English offerings at the secondary school level. It is suggested that the newer elective English programs differ from traditional ones in at least six ways: (1) elective programs consist of a wide variety of courses; (2) students are…

Based on the academic improvement of a sample group of students who participated in a loosely structured human potential seminar, a syllabus was prepared for future seminars at North Greenville College, a small, private, church-related community college in South Carolina. The following thematic objectives were used for the course: learning to work…

It is the thesis of this article that a serious effort to decide "why" results in the teacher's formulation of a basic rationale--a consciously derived position upon which classroom decisions are based. (Author)

The problem of gearing course content to fit the needs of the students is common to most educators. In this article, Dr. Fitzelle discusses the use of an interest inventory as one possibility for solving this problem, especially in child development courses. (Editor)

The author discusses the problem of making philosophy courses relevant to the needs of college students and relevance with modern problems compatable with traditional philosophy. He suggests various approaches including the application of logic to contemporary social arguments and ways of combining the study of traditional philosophers with…

Argues for a curriculum more responsive to the job expectations of different groups of pupils. (Editor)