The "little blue book"--an affectionate title used by admirers of Student Assessment-as-Learning at Alverno College--is written (rather stunningly) "by the Alverno College Faculty." The story behind this paradigm-shifting work on assessment underscores the vital role faculty inquiry plays in institutional and system-wide…

A description is provided of a project that was conducted to design, implement, and evaluate traditional and guided-practice instructional modules for independent learning of word processing skills. After an overview of the project, the report outlines the following steps in module development: identifying an instructional goal, conducting an…

This study surveys the audio-tutorial practices and evaluations at 91 California and 25 other junior colleges in the United States. Seventy of the California colleges indicate they are now or will be using the audio-tutorial method in the near future. A large majority of them indicate that they prepare their materials locally. Many of the colleges…

As part of a series dealing with competency-based education, this monograph explores the optimum selection and utilization of instructional activities, materials, and methods. The monograph first discusses the responsibility of the instructor to plan learning activities that reinforce targeted performance competencies, and then presents a…

The first in a series of annual reports designed to provide new ideas for faculty at California's Los Rios Community College District, this document reviews innovative instructional techniques and presents an overview of classroom-based assessment and cooperative-collaborative learning. Following a brief introduction, the report describes (K.…

Discusses the functions of composition titles, what makes a title attractive, and strategies for writing effective titles.(EL)

Argues that writing parodies of poetry is a productive, nonthreatening introduction to the creative effort of poem making. Provides several suggestions that may help in the parody-writing process. (RS)

Teacher evaluation determines tenure, salary, academic rank, or promotion and must be based on content, purpose, or nature of the teaching activity before, during, and after the classroom visit. Its six principles are: (1) realization of its necessity and complexity, (2) objective attitude, (3) focus on definable segments of observed behavior of…

At the University of Akron's Community and Technical College, the major student project for "Principles of Advertising" is the development of ad campaigns for an assigned product. Two groups of students, playing the role of advertising agencies, compete with each other while the remaining students in the class act as the clients. Among the…

Recommends an approach to basic skills instruction which takes poetry as its focus to study grammar, style, and ideas. Reports three benefits: poetry gives students something significant to read, utilizes professionals' grammar and usage to teach these areas, and generates readable topics for writing. Provides two typical assignments. (DMM)

Describes the use of student newspapers in a college freshman study skills course. Notes that the students enjoy the exercise. (RS)

Objectives and learning activities are delineated for a one-quarter, six-credit course offered by University College of the University of Cincinnati to familiarize students with the written and oral communication skills they will need on the job and to conduct a successful job search. A brief course description is presented first, revealing that…

This volume of 30 one- to two-page abstracts from 1993 highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the abstracts include: (1) role-playing to encourage critical thinking; (2) team learning techniques to cultivate business skills; (3) librarian-instructor partnerships to create…

The course design explained and illustrated in this paper provides students with a number of learning activities from which they may select those most appealing to them. After an introduction setting the background for this multidimensional approach, a general course design is presented in which each learning activity has a point value and student…

Uses the form of a Socratic dialogue to discuss the advantages of writers' workshops for students. Suggests classroom strategies and grading procedures. (EL)