For some instructors, the use of students' own experiences has proven to be an extremely useful starting point in the college composition classroom. In a first semester freshman composition course, students wrote autobiographies in which they examined different perspectives of the many communities in which they lived. Students then used the…

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…

Library research skills are included in a required graduate level research methods course offered at Bowling Green State University (Ohio). The course--Biological Documentation Techniques--is broadly involved with biological literature retrieval, bibliographic techniques, and data storage. It is taught cooperatively by the Department of Biological…

These four papers by a reference librarian discuss the potential for students at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego to engage in a positive academic career that will have a significant impact not only on their growth as people, but also on their future endeavors. The first paper, "Self-Definition: Naming Yourself in a College…

Field research gives graduate students a direct experience in appreciating the differences between doing research and reporting it. This paper reports the field experience provided in a doctoral program at the School of Education at Syracuse University. With the support and assistance of faculty consultants, a structured problem approach was used.…

The purpose of this paper is to provide a philosophy of education for the gifted and place that philosophy within the framework of practical education. The paper sketches the philosophy--language arts must be taught in a way that emphasizes the wholeness of the language experience--and discusses two key points: (1) If language arts consist of…

Teachers of a basic writing course broadened their theme approach from growth and change in adolescence to the theme of language and identity, developed sequenced writing assignments, and worked toward the culminating unit--a mini-research project through which all the language and thinking skills developed throughout the semester could be…

Benefits of attending research conferences for the master's-level graduate student are described. The following goals and benefits cited by Carsrud et al. (1982) are applied to the graduate student: (1) incentive for students to undertake independent research, the results of which will be reported at a convention; (2) communication with others…

Certainly reasons can be enumerated for the widespread use of handbooks and other "canned" materials in high school debate programs, but the quality of these resources and their actual use by debaters make them competitively negligible in value and counterproductive to the educational and competitive values that the forensic community…

The practical nature of technical writing is one of several concepts illustrated by the feasibility report assignment used in a technical writing course at Central Maine Vocational Technical Institute. As much as possible, the class is set up to simulate a work environment, including handouts printed as memos on letterhead paper. Students are…

Far too many students handle a research assignment through the tear and glue approach, a wholesale--though usually not quite so literal--copying of materials from books followed by a heavy handed plastering of the foreign material into their papers. Their papers are foredoomed to mediocrity or worse. By overstressing the dichotomy between critical…

By using small-scale artificially created archaeologic sites, a teacher can provide students with a time-efficient approach in which to master some basic archaeological techniques. In an artificially created setting, the students can become familiar with conditions they might meet in the field. In a short period of time, students may be exposed to…

The goals and objectives of a college library instruction program should be developed jointly by library staff and composition faculty. Such a program should (1) attempt to overcome student insecurity and confusion about conducting research; (2) focus on tools and skills necessary at each university level; (3) emphasize the unique aspects of the…

The effect of local public colleges on total higher education enrollment is examined in this study. While it is apparent that these colleges have attracted many students to their classrooms, this study attempts to find out both how many of these students would have attended other colleges and how many would not have attended at all had the local…

An undergraduate research program in natural product synthesis was established at a small liberal arts college. Discusses program goals (including the total synthesis of maytansine), objectives, and accomplishments to date. Guidelines for establishing such programs are offered. (JN)