In a debate in the Forum section of the "TESOL Quarterly", Jones and Silva (1998) exchanged views about the merits and demerits of teacher-assigned themes and topics in tertiary-level EFL/ESL writing classes. However, much more remains to be explored. Should teachers assign the topics of papers, or even the content themes for the entire…

Two types of self-efficacy were investigated in this study: self-efficacy for course content and self-efficacy for online learning technologies. Specifically, the study examined how these two types of self-efficacy change throughout a semester. Secondly, it examined whether students' self-efficacy is predicative of their satisfaction and course…

Activities and lessons, based on the theory of active learning and designed for a course to promote student involvement, are discussed in this document. Each activity is described and followed by an evaluation that students completed immediately following the activity. Students were asked about how interesting, useful, and relevant each of the…

An Internet-based course management system has been under development at the Fraunhofer-Institute for Computer Graphics Rostock (Germany) for the past 5 years. It is used by experts for distributing their courses via the Internet and by students for learning with the material distributed. The "Course Management System for WWW--CMS-W3"…

The educational beliefs of seven mechanical engineering faculty members at one university were examined in the context of their department and the history of the engineering education. Participants were selected to cover the demographic range across the department. Each of the faculty members was interviewed and observed at two points over the…

This paper reviews trends in assessment in quantitative courses and illustrates several options and approaches to assessment for advanced courses at the graduate level, especially in multivariate analysis. The paper provides a summary of how a researcher has used alternatives to traditional methods of assessment in a course on multivariate…

This paper discusses the need for social workers to commit themselves to working with persons with developmental disabilities and the need for social workers to gain expertise in the field of developmental disabilities. Problems within the social work profession and the field of developmental disabilities that have prohibited the meeting of these…

Describes the content and development of a curriculum that provides an approach to descriptive chemistry and the history of technology through consideration of the pottery, metallurgy, pigments, dyes, agriculture, and medicine of pre-Columbian people. (DDR)

Inclusion of a course in the pharmacy curriculum that deals primarily with the immune system, its function, malfunction, and therapeutic intervention provides what appears to be a workable focus for discussion of biotechnology. (MSE)

The study reported in this paper examined a group of science teachers' beliefs about the implementation of controversial social/technical issues in the extant science curriculum. Beliefs were measured by a 44-item Likert type instrument. Teachers were asked to elucidate their ideas relating to the teaching of social issues in areas such as support…

This paper posits that, as educators' attention turns to elementary mathematics as preparation for algebra, it is important to begin by examining the kind of elementary mathematics content teaching that is aligned with reform. The paper calls for a close examination of students' development of operation sense. The role of children's engagement…

A college honors course called "A Field Study in American Literature and Philosophy" helps students develop foundations for an environmental philosophy, by introducing them to the literature of natural history and exploration, and more importantly, through actual participation in outdoor activities. The class spends at least four days…

Reducing the incidence and severity of child and adolescent injuries requires a multifaceted approach involving broad-based health and social service agencies, including schools. Recognition of the need for injury prevention education began with the Industrial Revolution in the 1900s, and safety education was developed as a unit of health…

To determine whether imaginative literature should be used in freshman composition courses, teachers must first determine what the purpose of a first-year writing course is. Historically, reading and writing about literature entered the curriculum when faculty became concerned with establishing English departments. Prior to this, instruction in…

A literature course developed at the College of Staten Island concerns the human experience with other animals and the environment. Recently, the course has been significantly altered in line with insights gained through participation in a faculty seminar on the topic of inclusion of the "other." The alterations in the course design…