A survey of 114 U.S. and Canadian medical schools gathered information about the content, organization, and teaching methods of microanatomy courses. Results suggest the courses are relatively conventional, with development of computer-assisted instruction being impeded by availability of other, less-expensive self-instructional tools.…

A professor of American Indian law describes an interdisciplinary curriculum approach that combines legal and historical perspectives, focusing on issues of tribal sovereignty, tribal experience, and tribal persistence and continuity despite formidable legal and historical obstacles. Course content, strategy, objectives, and the law-history…

Presents the story of the creation of an undergraduate course on the traditional and contemporary roles of women in North American Indian cultures. Notes that the course was designed around experiential learning precepts and the idea of "giving voice" to American Indian women. Lists texts used and evaluates course strengths. (DSK)

Factors in development of a new introductory economics course, primarily for nonmajors, are discussed. These include selection of course content to capture student interest and reflect societal change, creation of a more stimulating classroom environment, and use of three cooperative learning activities on poverty, inflation, and budget deficits.…

Web-based courses have increased in number as one of the primary modes of distance education in undergraduate nursing programs across the United States. An online survey of 171 nursing faculty in the United States with experience teaching Web-based courses served as the primary data source. Interviews and a review of course Web sites provided…

Despite questions about their reliability and validity, student evaluations of teaching (SETs) are a primary measure of instructor performance. The current study examines SETs, including a thorough list of potentially relevant variables. The findings suggest that how much students perceive they learned in a course is an important predictor of SET…

This monograph presents data from a 1994 national survey on freshman seminars gathered from 1,003 accredited, two- and four-year colleges with student populations of over 100 students. The survey investigated the content and structure of freshman seminars in a mail survey of provosts/vice presidents for academic affairs at 2,460 institutions Among…

The two-term technical writing course at the University of Aizu (Japan) was developed to help computer science majors develop writing skills needed for academic and future career activities. The course was first organized and presented in 1994 and has undergone continuous evaluation and revision. During the first two years, it was presented in two…

A teacher of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) reading courses at Doshisha University (Japan) describes classroom techniques and activities involving use of the computer and assesses the benefits, difficulties, and instructional results. Data are drawn from two ESL classes using computer-based instruction (CBI) offered in 1 year. The primary…

This study compared student outcomes and evaluations in nine educational psychology courses across: (1) student variables (age, gender, ethnicity, student status, and major); (2) instructor variables (experience teaching at the college level, experience teaching at the K-12 level, and educational level); and (3) course variables (placement of…

In developing a model for institutional assessment, John Wood Community College (JWCC), in Quincy, Illinois, decided to use student learning as the foundation of evaluation, as opposed to the activities and services offered by the college. This performance-based approach to institutional assessment was then expanded to reshape the process by which…

A course using computer-assisted instruction for the development of second language reading skills is described. The course was developed in the Soviet Union for incorporation into the curriculum of a polytechnic institute. Nine computer programs consisting of learning modules were developed to address specific reading skills not likely to have…

This manual is intended to help teachers meet the objectives of the 1985 Alberta, Canada, Accounting 10-20-30 curriculum. The manual is organized in nine sections. The first section introduces the curriculum and lists the course objectives, and the following section provides a flowchart of the accounting modules. Information on planning the…

A study investigated the use of horizontal instruction to teach Spanish-speaking secondary students an inferential English reading skill. It looked at (1) the relationship between the students' class-inclusion skills and their ability to identify the implied main idea, (2) the effect of sequentially-developed classification lessons on the…

Component-building research on practical issues of instructional design can make a substantial contribution to research-based school improvement. Component-building research consists of rigorous within-school experiments that test various components of instruction for effects on student achievement. Research would address practical issues that…