An "investigative method" can be used by the English education specialist to determine both content of a curriculum and the organization and instruction of courses. Assuming that the purpose of teaching is to produce desired changes within learners, the method of the English teacher is to (1) decide the content of a new course which will develop within his students the desired skills and achievements, (2) establish instructional objectives based on this content, (3) select and organize the learning activities, and (4) evaluate the instructional program and the learning achievements of his students. Using this method, an instructor may plan and evaluate any new course (e.g., ones in film study, in the analysis of ideas, or in Black literature). Such a rational procedure for curriculum planning must be learned, practiced, and fostered by the English education specialist and his students. (JM)