In order to have freshman composition students review and strengthen their research and documentation skills, they are asked to write 700 to 1,000-word papers synthesizing from sources such as anthologies, journals, government documents, films, biographies, almanacs, and interviews. Three assignments require the students to gather information…

When using outside sources in their writing, students must learn to balance efficiency with effectiveness. In other words, they must express themselves clearly and quickly, providing readers with enough explicit information to create a causal chain based on reasonable inferences. Yet they must guard against being overly explicit, boring their…

Participating in research is valuable for the undergraduate college student's development in the sciences. Students can observe the professor's typical behavior as he leads the research effort as well as learn and practice research ideas and techniques. Financial support is needed for this kind of research involvement. (MSE)

Throughout students' academic careers, they are required to perform a variety of speech-related activities. According to one study, students with demonstrated communication anxiety are less successful academically. Both the instructor and the librarian can contribute to assisting the student with communication anxiety. Using a variety of…

Explains how TV can be used to help students understand the general principles of research. (EL)

Explains why instructors need to make report writing an integral part of courses in business and technical writing. Discusses the advantage of group projects on campus-related issues. (EL)

Describes a three-week library assignment--designed to acquaint freshman students with a large library and with research techniques--that was focused on the topic of censorship. (EL)

Urges professors to explain to graduate students the difference between undergraduate programs, which reproduce knowledge, and graduate programs, which are designed to produce knowledge and reproduce the faculty. Suggests that professional socialization be made explicit for students by encouraging them to use the informal curriculum. Recommends…

Discusses Plenary Review, a policy decision process utilized in a series of experimental seminars. Emphasizes the use of students as decision makers to assess the social, economic, moral, political, and institutional consequences of implementation efforts in a public policy area. Recommends decision forcing and praises the multidimensional…

Asserts that science instruction should have students behaving as real scientists. Discusses benefits of high school science research programs for precocious youths. (PR)

The lack of a planned, disciplined, and well-supervised approach to research which frustrates a student's timely completion of a Ph.D. program is addressed. Some practices are discussed which, if adopted, could lead many more students to complete their Ph.D. expeditiously. A framework is presented that is intended to help the student and the…

Summarizes the report on undergraduate education in biology published by the National Science Foundation. Discusses the problems and recommended solutions for each of three areas: laboratories and course development; enhancing the quality of teaching; and recruitment and retention of students. (YP)

With resource-based learning projects, college students at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science develop a better sense of the information resources available, the nature of scientific literature, and the characteristics of scientific writing. Faculty motivations, benefits, and disappointments with this approach are addressed.…

Discusses the importance of voice in historical writing. Criticizes objective historiography as impossible and undesirable. Emphasizes the interest and depth of interpretation generated by the use of voice in historical writing. Suggests classroom exercises that enable students to identify and evaluate voice in primary sources and secondary works.…

A freshman humanities course in reading and research was used by three English instructors to investigate the appropriateness of having students use an online database as a research tool. The results show that the acquisition of basic online database search skills is not qualitatively different from that of more traditional research skills.…