Assessment of student learning at the United States Military Academy (USMA) is a relatively new process. The USMA faces an additional challenge, as many of its instructors and professors are active-duty military officers who rotate through two- to three-year teaching assignments before transitioning back to the Army. To address this challenge, the…

The past [approximately]15 years have seen increasing interest in defining disciplinary core concepts. Within the field of physiology, Michael, McFarland, Modell, and colleagues have published studies that defined physiology core concepts and have elaborated many of these as detailed conceptual frameworks. With such helpful definitions now in…

Projects related to the European Language Portfolio (ELP) carried out at the Language Centre of the University of Trieste are concerned to examine whether and to what extent "can do" descriptors can be extended to courses in Languages for Specific Purposes. The project reported in this article had two aims. The first was to explore what…

Offers recommendations for development of an undergraduate desktop publishing course. Discusses scholastic level and prerequisites, purpose and objectives, instructional resources and methodology, assignments and evaluation, and a general course outline. (SR)

In 1991, in response to a mandate from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Cameron University developed a Communication Assessment Program to measure and assess the competency level of students in writing and speaking. The communications assessment sub-committee considered several options for assessing student skills in writing,…

Educational assessment in higher education as seen by those who have a key part in the process is considered, with reference to the British system. Ways in which the assessment of students can be categorized, and the need for every assessor to have a clear and explicit purpose are addressed, along with the principles of fairness, validity, and…

Describes a series of procedures that can objectively measure student growth in interdisciplinary humanities courses at the secondary or college level. Preinstruction and postinstruction assessments determine student attitudes, responses to literature, art, and music, and knowledge of course content; midcourse individual conferences are also used.…

The modification of an entire undergraduate curriculum to the concept of meeting explicit educational goals and objectives is reported. This system clarifies the student's responsibility in a course, permits rapid restudy, aids evaluation by faculty, and allows for easy reorganization of courses. (JT)

Objective: The author reports on a required fourth-year course, Psychiatry in Medicine, which was started in 1999 at Stony Brook Medical School. The aim was to address two important concerns in medical education at Stony Brook and throughout the United States: 1) the failure to recognize psychiatric pathology in outpatient medical settings and 2)…

The development, reliability, and validity of a practical examination to evaluate student attainment of course objectives in an externship program are described. Examination content was determined by surveying preceptors and suggestions from practicing pharmacists; the reliability was assessed by interrater agreement and internal consistency…

Discusses establishing a course in intercultural communication. Discusses determining course goals; selecting textbooks and readings; selecting guest speakers; selecting films and videotapes; involving students in the learning process; and evaluating student achievement. (RS)

Provides an overview of a content-based postsecondary German language course that uses youth literature to teach about the Holocaust. Philosophical as well as pedagogical problems of dealing with the Holocaust in DaF instruction are included in the curriculum. Curricular considerations are presented that deal with course objectives, learning…

The accountability of faculty for teaching is discussed with reference to the comprehensive course syllabus (an agreement on course content between faculty members and between teachers and students with course objectives states behaviorally), determination of the means of measuring the agreed-upon accomplishments, and responsibility of the…

Elements that might be included in a course syllabus are discussed, and reasons for a well-written syllabus are briefly noted. The following syllabus elements are covered: course description, course objectives, course structure, textbook and required materials, recommended optional materials, course schedule, deadlines, evaluation methods, policy…

A statement of course objectives for a first-year course in legal writing is proposed. Its uses are described and problems that arise in the context of a legal writing course are noted. A statement of objectives in a form appropriate for distribution is appended. (Author/MLW)