Reviews Wilkins' approach to curriculum design as presented in his "Notional Syllabuses." Discusses three components of the language teaching-language learning process: the semantic, the functional, and the formal component, showing how Wilkins' analytic approach implies a semantic rather than a grammatical syllabus, based on learners'…

Training programs for college administrators in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States are evaluated for their design and content. Among the observations: traditionalism predominates; a perennial dichotomy of theory v practice exists; program strength is in staff quality; interpersonal competence is not adequately addressed. (MSE)

Discusses the types of materials that should be used in the foreign language classroom to teach students how to communicate in real-life situations. These materials are called "communication tasks." (CFM)

A survey of 55 pharmacy schools found that of those offering a pharmacy doctoral program, three-fourths had a separate course devoted to physical assessment of patients, most offered in the third professional year. Most require students to demonstrate use of stethoscope, sphygmomanometer, ophthalmo-otoscope, tuning fork, reflex hammer. Reasons for…

By graduation, all medical students should be able to demonstrate appropriate attitudes, core knowledge, and basic skills in assessment and intervention with patients at risk from or experiencing violence. Postgraduate medical training should prepare physicians with specialized knowledge and skills, and faculty development for medical school…

A 1994 national survey of deans of 91 accredited social work education programs investigated policies and procedures related to granting advanced standing to social work master's degree students who completed social work foundation courses during undergraduate study. Most have policies and procedures related to advanced standing, but they vary…

A study investigated medical students' expectations of the medical school environment and opinions of their academic experience in three areas (teaching/administration, psychological aspects of student life, intellectual climate) near the end of their first year in two parallel curricula: a problem-based learning program and a traditional…

A study compared scores on identical tests in internal medicine for two groups of graduating University of Toronto (Canada) medical students: those in a traditional, lecture-based curriculum (TC) and those in a redesigned curriculum with less didactic instruction and more clinical experience (NC). All comparisons showed a significantly higher…

Argues that strong ethnocentrism exists in TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) in Western English-speaking countries, and that teacher educators in these countries neglect the special needs of international students. Specifies the major needs of this group and offers suggestions for meeting them, particularly in the areas of…

Describes the University of Denver (Colorado) Executive Master's in Business Administration (MBA) program, designed for business practitioners and intended to link the classroom and professional experience. The program includes a ten-day sojourn in China, with preparatory research and a post-visit critique of that research. Outcomes are discussed…

In 1999, Scotland's "Higher Still" will incorporate all upper-secondary academic and vocational courses in a unified curriculum and assessment system for postcompulsory education. Higher Still's objectives, strategies, and "system architecture" are compared to those of Austria, England, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, and…

A study investigating the effects of a two-week early clinical experience for fifth-year pharmacy students on concurrent didactic and subsequent clerkship performance found no significant effects. However, student and faculty course evaluations indicated early exposure to clinical experience was viewed as beneficial. Results will be used in…

A 1988 survey of 50 dental schools found only 27 offered course content on coping with death, dying, or bereavement and none had a course dedicated to the topic. A variety of methods are used to present the information, and generally dental school faculty are the presenters. Only three schools intend to add this content to the curriculum. (MSE)

The Personal Progress Index, designed to assess students' knowledge at regular intervals, is administered at the McMaster University (Ontario) Faculty of Health Sciences three times annually. Feedback is provided to students, and accumulated student performance is determined for summative evaluation. Results over 4 classes (n=400) show it to be…

A survey of graduates (n=87) of the University of New Mexico's conventional medical program and its parallel problem-based curriculum (n=33) found graduates of the latter much more likely to work in medically underserved areas and publicly funded health care settings, care for nonpaying patients, and identify patient problems and curiosity as…