This brief position paper describes the integration of children's literature into the social studies/humanities methods course for elementary school teachers at California State University (Rialto). The course is built around a thematic unit approach and reading and writing across the curriculum in order to give future teachers a model in…

This unit covers the tumultuous period of 1894-1945 in modern Japanese history. The curriculum unit includes an assortment of Japanese arguments for and against government policies of expansion and war. The unit introduces a wide variety of Japanese materials, ranging from paintings to fiction to personal memoirs, that can enhance students'…

This collection of writings and speeches focuses on the current state of higher education in the United States, based largely on the experience of the president of the George Washington University (GWU) for the past 10 years. Individual selections focus on teaching effectiveness and the need for academic change; searching for perspective in a…

Reviews the most recent ERIC literature concerning the status of the liberal arts and humanities in community colleges; efforts to link the liberal arts with the world of work; interdisciplinary and other nontraditional humanities courses; liberal arts students; and honors programs. (AYC)

A learning preference scale was developed in Australia to determine whether teachers preferred cooperative, competitive, or individualized learning. The instrument was used with elementary school teachers and with secondary school teachers of humanities and mathematics or science. The effects of sex and subject area on learning preferences are…

Drawing upon data from nationwide surveys of science and humanities instructors, compares the teaching strategies and audiovisual media used by full- and part-time humanities and science faculty. Reveals that conservatism and traditionalism pervade the teaching approaches and attitudes of community college instructors. (DMM)

A college, it is argued, should be a place where basic assumptions are examined; where trained minds weigh options; where schools of thought are developed; and where social, political, and moral ramifications of that thought are tested. (MLW)

In recent years a dramatic increase in enrollments of mature age students has occurred in courses of arts, social sciences, and humanities. The main objective of this study was to examine the predictive value of the age factor in the academic performance of behavioral science students at a regional college of advanced education in Australia. (SSH)

Presents the results of a three-year pilot program integrating humanities studies at six community colleges using funds from the Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Discusses interdisciplinary curriculum development, team-teaching, humanities inclusion in occupational education, ethical modules for technical courses,…

Team-taught interdisciplinary courses are seen as difficult to develop if an institution has a strong departmental structure. Course-pairs, a model to develop a truly interdisciplinary course while providing independent, coherent courses in history and philosophy, is described. The results of a student course-evaluation survey are presented. (MLW)

Two lessons illustrate the human dimension of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, showing them both as fathers through an account of Willie Lincoln's death and portions of Roosevelt's letters to his children. (CK)

Discusses the value of language study with respect to international relations. (AM)

A model for cross-cultural and interdisciplinary teaching is suggested to fill the need of community colleges for curriculum and instruction models that can help students of unlike backgrounds and capabilities. This model offers a mechanism for bringing together unlike cultures to enable students to look for parallels and relationships. (JMD)

Dominican College's colloquia consist of courses from diverse disciplines clustered around a central topic or great figure from history, emphasizing the interrelatedness of all areas of knowledge. Opportunities for student involvement and the need for faculty development are discussed. (Author/MLW)

High school teachers (n=143) ranked 14 communication skills according to the perceived order of importance for Grade 10 adolescents' communication with them as teachers. Teachers tended to perceive skills associated with discourse management strategies as relatively more important than other skills. Science teachers ranked turn taking higher than…