A description is presented of a course, "Patient and Family Education," designed to provide second-year baccalaureate nursing students with the skills and knowledge necessary to educate patients about health care and treatment. Following a rationale for and general information about the course, a glossary of terms and a list of instructional…

This report describes the development of a distance learning curriculum package designed to teach the skills of presenting, analyzing, and evaluating statistical information to middle-management-level librarians and information officers. Originally developed by the School of Librarianship and Information Studies at Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic…

A course in semiotics developed and taught for 16 years at Brookline High School in Massachusetts is described. The course uses four published texts, a series of readings, experiments, language games, and exercises in an effort to broaden, objectify, and integrate the students' conception of language. It consists of four units: (1) signs,…

The use of a computer-based system of individualized course evaluations, Instructor-Designed Questionnaires (IDQs), to collect student reactions to classes at the University of Michigan is discussed. Originally designed to provide feedback to university teachers alone, the system is now used extensively by teachers to gather information for…

This review of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Writing Programs was undertaken for several reasons, among them the rapid increase of research in writing, the inconsistency among courses, and the need to reshape and expand the programs. The report begins with a summary of earlier reviews of UCLA's composition program. Following a…

A study examined the acceptance and effectiveness of a basic public speaking course that uses a modified Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) approach. Based on behavioristic psychology, PSI stresses mastery learning, self-pacing, the written word, student proctors, and lectures that motivate rather than just supply essential information. Five…

With the introduction of computers into education, learning is becoming a student-centered process actively directed by the students themselves, rather than a teacher-centered process in which students receive information passively. This situation requires a substantial reassessment of concepts of curriculum and courseware development. This…

A meta-analysis of the literature findings on student evaluations of teaching are described. This research supports the validity of student ratings as measures of teaching effectiveness. Teachers whose students do well on achievement measures tend to receive higher instructional ratings than teachers whose students do poorly. Correlational effect…

Pre- and posttests were administered to approximately one-third of the students (241) who participated in the University of California at Los Angeles' (UCLA) English 3--Library Instruction Program. The program's effect on the students' library related behavior was evaluated, and changes in library usage, attitudes toward libraries and librarians,…

This presentation describes the development, implementation and evaluation of videotaped presentations on skills for assessing special needs in young children for a Montana State University's Home Economics Course. The purpose of this project was to develop instructional materials which provide: (1) consistent and repeatable observational…

Graduates of the Mesa Public Schools Advanced Placement (A/P) program were surveyed to determine: (1) their attitudes toward their experience in the program; (2) college credits received for their A/P classes; and (3) their suggestions for A/P program improvement. A/P courses, offered within the regular curriculum, have grown significantly since…

This paper examines the effectiveness of three methods of teaching interpersonal communication (lecturing, using interpersonal exercises, and using exercises that require the application of interpersonal skills) and the relationships among students' test scores on examination questions dealing with knowledge, comprehension, and application skills.…

A study was designed to evaluate the implementation of career exploration in marketing/distribution and hospitality/recreation through courses offered in one junior high and four senior high school classes in Wisconsin in 1977. The marketing/distribution and hospitality/recreation curriculum was incorporated in distributive education, American…

An instructional development project at the University of Kansas focused upon two major objectives: (1) to develop teaching strategies to introduce engineering students and faculty to literature searching on computerized data bases, and (2) to help students develop effective on-line search strategies. A faculty workshop and an undergraduate…

The reliability of the two most widely used course evaluation instruments at Indiana University was examined. The 38-item Form A, a modification of a course-evaluation instrument reported by Hildebrand and Wilson, at the University of California at Davis, asked students to rate instructors on a seven-point scale, from excellent to poor. The…