This paper presents the student evaluation of a problem-based learning (PBL) implementation in the postgraduate engineering curriculum of a public university in Brazil. This investigation adopts a qualitative and collaborative design, as suggested when the research objective is to study phenomena in their natural settings in terms of the meanings…

Through case-writing pedagogy, an approach to case-method instruction, early intervention-early childhood leadership students examined interdisciplinary perspectives, reflected, and integrated new content. Students explored leadership theories and researched current issues and trends in early childhood mental health as they engaged in a collegial,…

As a science teacher, the author strives to make science an effective component of a liberal arts education. In this article, he describes a conceptual physics/astronomy course integrated with such humanities fields as history, art, and literature, which he has been teaching over the last 5 years. The course, entitled Physics of Heaven and…

Using college transcripts, we separate the effects of remedial coursework from high school preparation. For two-year colleges, taking remedial classes was "not" associated with less academic success. In four-year colleges, there "are" negative effects of remedial coursework, but many minority students who complete a bachelor's…

Universities throughout the nation are faced with the reality of an increase in demand from placebound, adult working students who live and work in locations that may be hundreds of miles from traditional college campuses, and require a less centralized mode of course instruction. At the same time technological advances are now available that…

As teachers face increasing demands to meet the needs of students with special needs in inclusive classrooms, there is a corresponding increase in the need for professional development opportunities for practicing teachers in areas that will assist them to become more knowledgeable in meeting these needs. One area of concern for teachers is the…

The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), the only postsecondary institution in Kuwait other than Kuwait University, brings together four technical-vocational colleges (Basic Education, Business Studies, Technological Studies, and Health Sciences) on separate campuses for males and females. PAAET's Measurement and Evaluation…

Prepared as Book Four of a focused evaluation report submitted to the North Central Association, this document provides a plan for assessing student academic achievement at New Mexico State University's two-year branch campus at Carlsbad. First, a narrative is provided describing the plan and its role in overall institutional assessment and…

The Rural Special Education Project is a federally funded partnership between Kayenta Unified School District and Northern Arizona University's (NAU) Center for Excellence in Education that aims to prepare well qualified special education teachers to work in rural and reservation schools. The participants are Native American residents working…

In fall 1996, a learning community (LC) involving a biology, a philosophy, and an English composition course was conducted at the Superstition Mountain campus of Central Arizona College. Entitled "Brave New World," the LC met the syllabi-required outcomes for the three courses, while also concentrating on environmental, political,…

A teacher education seminar, designed to be an egalitarian "community of learners," is critiqued. In an effort to make classroom learning relations more equal, instructors referred to themselves as seminar leaders and sought student participation in the curriculum decision-making process. The most significant consequence of the…

The first part of this study replicates an earlier study (D. Waechter, I. Newman, and L. Rosenkoetter, 1998) that used a procedure for authentic assessment of students in a master's level research class, a class that is often feared and avoided by students, by means of a study on humor, since that content would be somewhat incompatible with…

Two types of feedback are examined, and their use in controlling the processes of instructional development and improvement are discussed. Closed-loop feedback, the most direct, uses immediate feedback about a process or product to make immediate adjustments in it. Open-loop feedback, in which input cannot be changed immediately, uses feedback to…

The course selected for the creative approach was History and Philosophy of Early Childhood Education, an offering in the Department of Human Development. The subjects were 58 undergraduates in 3 classes. The creative approach required innovative student team presentations on seven early childhood education programs, and offered the choice of an…

The statistical results of administering a newly developed student rating scale of instructor effectiveness at the University of South Florida (USF) are analyzed, and the development and refinement of the scale are described. The scale was originally developed during the fall 1981 semester and was administered to 1,115 USF students. The scale…