Presents a course syllabus for English 315, Special Topics in Writing, a course at University of North Carolina-Wilmington under which department faculty may propose a focused study of a theme, issue, or genre in writing or rhetoric. Explores the relationship between writing and the self. Includes a critical statement evaluating strengths and…

Pre/post course evaluations by 35 students in an interdisciplinary geriatric training program delivered via distance methods indicated an increase in interdisciplinary team skills. Students working with older clients had better attitudes about teams and were motivated to seek additional training. Distance delivery enabled outreach to underserved…

The "Education of the Developmentally Young" course is an inservice training course for staff using behavioral techniques in their work with persons with severe learning difficulties. Evaluation of the course by trainees and instructors found that the course is highly valued and develops important skills, but has some deficiencies. (Author/JDD)

Describes the design, development, and validity of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), a test designed to assess student understanding of the most basic concepts in Newtonian physics and to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction. Discusses various uses of the FCI and the interpretation of the FCI score. (JRH)

Describes the factor analysis and validity of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), a test designed to assess student understanding of the most basic concepts in Newtonian physics and to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction. Discusses problems in the use of the FCI and urges caution in interpreting and using FCI scores. (JRH)

Investigates the value of college-level instruction in listening beyond course completion. Finds that all former students would recommend the course to others but that the course did not have the desired impact in the area of "therapeutic" listening. Concludes that the course may have a greater effect if it comes earlier in a program. (RS)

Evaluated career-planning course for its effects on multidimensional Career-Decision Profile. Subjects were 131 students who participated in the treatment condition and 109 controls. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant differences on three subscales for the treatment condition. (Author/NB)

Examines the effectiveness of different forms of questionnaires utilized to evaluate teachers and courses by comparing the use of individual questions with that of global questions. Discusses findings related to specific improvements in the design of student questionnaires. (Author/JJK)

Presents a draft (representing a massive revision) of the guidelines that have directed campus self-studies (preceding visits from WPA consultant-evaluators) for over a decade. Requests interested persons to make comments and propose changes to the draft document. (RS)

Three classes of business ethics students evaluated 25 ethical scenarios. Instruction in business ethics appeared to enhance students' ability to identify the presence of ethical issues. Compared to previous research, this study clearly identified the goals of ethics instruction and replicated the results across several school terms. (SK)

Outlines the kinds of issues technical communicators should address in a valid assessment. Notes the kind of assumptions and ensuing questions that will surround a thorough assessment of programs, classes, teachers, and students. (RS)

Presents the results of an exploratory multi-method evaluation study and transcript analysis of an online forum. Highlights include use of a constructivist interaction analysis model to help understand and assess online learning; social interchange; and social discord and knowledge construction. (Author/LRW)

Describes an assessment carried out in collaboration with the administrators of a large freshman English course. Relates how the assessment team worked with instructors to identify goals and design assessment tasks. Finds no substantial improvement on any of the five course goals for students who took the course. Reflects on why instructors may…

Presents the results of a small-scale study carried out to investigate how a representative sample of 24 students at a large language school in Barcelona interpreted items on an end-of-course evaluation form. The study aimed to explore two key questions: the extent to which individuals interpret questionnaire items in similar fashion and the…

Focuses on the courses devoted entirely to sensitizing or educating students about the media's relationship with groups that have experienced long-term discrimination and oppression: women; non-white racial groups; gays/lesbians; and the disabled. Examines the nature, strengths and weaknesses of the courses and assesses the extent to which…