Two technical writing courses at a two-year agricultural college were designed to meet the individualized needs of students in various agricultural studies in the animal industries, horticulture, agricultural business, and agricultural mechanics. Offering a technical writing program based upon the writing tasks of the students' intended…

Item writing methods for criterion referenced tests in the cognitive domain are reviewed. The methods are classified on a continuum from informal-subjective to automated-objective. Examples of approaches to improving instructional objectives are given. Domain-based tests are derived from content specifications and five approaches are described:…

The rationale behind the approach taken for an academic writing course, "Communicate in Writing: the English of Academic Study," is discussed. The first step was to provide a theoretical framework for the analysis of specimens of appropriate texts in functional terms. This analysis was made in order to identify the most frequently occurring…

In teaching a course on the history of the German language, it is preferable to use the linguistic approach, which deals with the structure of language and those linguistic events which characterize the development of contemporary German from Proto-Indo-European, rather than the cultural approach, with emphasis on extralinguistic data. The main…

A number of issues in classroom second language instruction, particularly as they relate to grammar instruction, are considered in the context of recent research and theory. Discussion begins with a review of the nature and role of second language grammar instruction. Following this, these issues are explored: whether the native or target language…

The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of adaptation of an Instructional Design and Development course from a residential course to a Web-based course offered in the Distance Masters program in Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University. Lessons from the literature are discussed, followed by a description of the Web-based…

To identify specific instructional features prompting meaningful change among teacher candidates, this literature review evaluated studies that examined the influence of teacher education coursework on preservice teachers' conceptions and practices. Literature came from books and from journals published between 1992-96. The review examined whether…

Development of online courses requires the use of appropriate educational philosophies that discourage rote learning and passive transfer of information from teacher to learner. This paper reports on the development, use and evaluation of two second year Biology online software packages used by students in constructivist environments. The courses…

This paper explains how the St. Cloud State University (Minnesota) College of Education is addressing the need for its graduates to be information technology-prepared in order to meet the demands and expectations of today's classroom. Following a summary of research that indicates the need for improved instruction about effective use of technology…

At Tomball College, in Texas, an interdisciplinary course in gender issues was developed to examine the psychological and social realities of gender roles. The course was team taught by a psychologist and a sociologist and met twice a week for 80 minutes per session. The class covered the general areas of gender history; physical and cognitive…

It is argued that while college courses in French business communication aim to introduce business concepts, syllabuses and textbooks for this purpose do not integrate business skill training with business language training. Texts may contain extensive business-related vocabulary, readings, correspondence exercises, and definition of new concepts,…

This paper outlines a range of ways that technology education can be incorporated into existing curricula without compromising those programs, the technological skills and knowledge advocated in the 1994 technology statement of the Curriculum Corporation of Australia, or the children and teachers themselves. A case study of a year-two teacher is…

As part of a graduate research course, nine students formed a research team to carry out all aspects of a multimethod research study, including design, data collection and analysis, interpretation, and presentation of results in a final evaluation report to a local school corporation. Benefits and challenges were noted by both the instructor and…

Teachers rely on mental planning throughout the design, implementation, and evaluation phases of instruction. This paper focuses on the elementary school teacher's use of instructional design (ID) skills in the planning and delivery of instruction, emphasizing the relative and "real" use of ID practices in both mental and written…

This paper describes the change in student attitudes after taking a computer literacy course which is part of a 6-week pre-college summer session. The summer session is designed for the educationally and financially disadvantages students of the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) and students from the ACCESS program who do not meet normal…