Active learning has attracted considerable attention in higher education in response to concerns about how and what students are learning. There are many different forms of active learning, yet most of them are classroom based. We propose an alternative to active learning in the classroom through active learning outside of the classroom in the…

Describes an assignment in an undergraduate technical writing class in which students establish a mini-internship with an off-campus employer and complete a major writing task that will meet the needs of the employer. Discusses typical projects, monitoring the projects, feedback from supervisors, handling occasional problems, and benefits of the…

Notes problems caused by untrained persons and excavators at archaeological sites and lists contacts for persons interested in working at sites in New York State. When excavations are merely a part of a minor unit, students lack the broader picture gained by a thorough study of the site. (KC)

This paper tells how a school of journalism linked two types of courses for master's degree candidates: a practical course in public affairs reporting, in which students worked in Washington developing news stories for hinterland dailies, and an academic seminar in media/government relations that required the writing of research papers. In order…

Describes a four-semester course in technical communication that culminates in a student project for which students work in teams aided by faculty managers to define a project, learn about it on their own, gather evidence, choose the best solution, and defend their choices to an outside client. (SRT)

This compendium contains descriptions of 59 community action projects that receive academic credit from 48 colleges and universities. Brief descriptions are given of the diverse institutions offering such field work for credit, including information on enrollment and type (i.e., public, private, etc.). Although the characteristics of the programs…

Climatology field experiences are described showing that midlatitude cities show manifestations of the modified thermal environment known as the heat island. Suggestions for project planning and precautions regarding weather, timing, and safety are included. (AV)

Discusses the value of a capstone course in applied sociology as the culmination of the undergraduate sociology curriculum. Points out advantages of joint faculty-student projects for the course and presents the relative merits of two different formats: solo versus team projects. (Author/GEA)

Student workshops can complement coursework in the academic disciplines and provide field training for public health, social work, urban planning, and other professions. This article describes three community-planning workshops for college students: a community planning workshop in rural east central Illinois, a neighborhood revitalization project…

The development of a health fair project, through which older Americans were given health screening tests and health education instruction, is described. The project, sponsored by a multidisciplinary gerontology program at Oregon State University, combined service to the aging with applied learning opportunities for college students. (PP)

An "Appalachia in the Media" course engages college students in field-based research examining movies, music, television shows, novels, newspapers, museum exhibits, even hillbilly trinkets and doodads. Students submit a document describing the field project and analyzing the findings, then give an oral summary presentation. Finally, the projects…

Under a 1972 grant from the National Science Foundation's College Science Improvement Program (CoSIP), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) undertook a major educational experiment involving the total reorientation of its educational programs. The encompassing effort is referred to as the WPI PLAN. A major facet of the WPI PLAN involves student…

Approximately 1,100 students from about 50 colleges and universities worked in more than 50 New York City agencies for the summer of 1966 in a million dollar program funded by the College Work-Study Program of the Office of Education and by the City, and administered largely by students. The Urban Corps had 3 purposes: to get needed work done; to…

The objective of this research was to explore how authentic technology use and teacher inquiry may coalesce during curriculum-based, technology-enhanced field experiences for prospective teachers. Thirteen inquiries were analyzed using qualitative analytic procedures (Rossman, 1998). Results suggest that teacher inquiry may serve a variety of…

This journal is devoted to the art of teaching in the field of speech communication. Articles collected in this issue address topics on the development of basic speech communication courses and include the following titles: "Onward . . . A Tradition Continues"; "Performance Courses: No Way to Run a Railroad" and "Not Revolution but Revision,"…