Explores the use of autobiography as a tool for increasing student participation, uncovering student attitudes and values, and as a source of examples for lectures and class discussion. Concludes that information gathered can be used to alert students to potential problems of using summary statistics and nonrepresentative samples when generalizing…

Some innovative solutions to two key graduate research problems, definition of the research problem and planning and writing the thesis first draft, are outlined. Workshops are recommended as an effective format for assisting students in developing research skills through practical guidance, group support, and discussion. (MSE)

Presents two articles in which teachers describe how film can be used in the language arts classroom to accomplish many of the same things that books can. Shows, in particular, how film facilitates the teaching of literary terms and devices and how it heightens interest in the student research paper without detracting from the basic lessons of the…

Suggests techniques for teaching about gender role socialization. Personal, qualitative data provided by children can be used effectively to: (1) highlight issues in gender role socialization; (2) generate research hypotheses; (3) stimulate creative research designs; (4) illustrate how gender role socialization occurs; and (5) illustrate the…

Qualitative research procedures may be characterized by the practice of empiricism that is sensitive to individual perspectives of reality. The many techniques that may be used are malleable and situation-specific in their design--contingent on those aspects of social phenomena that are chosen to be studied. Practical curriculum design for…

It is proposed that second language pedagogy can benefit from the perspectives on epistemology provided by Gaston Bachelard, an early twentieth-century French philosopher and psycholanalyst. (MSE)

Describes a process for teaching middle school students how to do research. Topics addressed include student attitudes; five major components of the research process; choosing topics that interest the students personally; assessing student progress; and benefits to the students. (LRW)

Explores the basic communication research course for undergraduates. Discusses several key notions for making this course valuable to the undergraduate: the attitude of the instructor, the attitude of the students, course requirements and activities, and evaluation techniques. (SR)

Probabilistic reasoning as developed by John Locke can provide the English teacher with a useful system for teaching the research paper since it consists of four major strategies for probing a subject: (1) the use of maxims or principles, (2) the framing of hypotheses, (3) the use of analogy, and (4) the reliance on authority. However, it is the…

Examines the trend toward "scientism" or applying a quantifiable methodology for its own sake to research on sentence combining. Argues that sentence combining is only a tool and not a suitable curriculum for composition instruction and cautions against using social scientific methodologies in essentially humanistic disciplines. (HTH)

Inquiry teaching requires students to engage in hypothesis formation, collection and evaluation of evidence, and the drawing of logical conclusions. Prerequisite skills for inquiry learning are discussed, and examples of inquiry learning in a college level general psychology course are presented. (RM)

Social scientists need to cultivate awareness of values, their own and those embedded in research activities, and be responsive to the value system they encounter when doing organizational research. Discusses the sharing of ethical responsibility with organization members, elements of self-awareness and self-management, relationship management,…

The document discusses the discipline of geography in terms of its nature, development, research, and teaching methods. It is presented in six chapters. Chapter one briefly discusses the value of geography, its position among the sciences, and careers in geography. Chapter two traces the development of geographic thought from antiquity through the…

Describing how the experiences of nine cognitive researchers have influenced college writing classrooms, this book demonstrates the critical role of the learner in interpreting and responding to the texts they read, the tasks they are assigned, and the feedback they receive from instructors, readers, and collaborators. Growing out of a project at…

Argues that cookbook chemistry laboratory experiments do little to teach scientific inquiry. Suggests providing students with laboratory experiences that follow the introduction of a concept and challenge students to investigate that concept through an experiment involving very few initial instructions. Lists some such challenges used in chemistry…