The Baltimore lawyer David Hoffman (1784-1854), the father of American legal ethics, was also the first of the systematic American legal educators. The history and operation of his law school, the curriculum, and his effective use of the lecture method are described and discussed. (MSE)

Presents an interview with Leon F. Litwack, a professor of U.S. history at the University of California, Berkeley. Covers topics such as what led him to teaching history, his lectures at Berkeley, themes covered in his U.S. history surveys, and his perception of good teaching. (CMK)

A study using spectrographic analysis investigated whether six university professors would modify the temporal organization of their speech when delivering identical lectures to low-proficiency and high-proficiency nonnative and native speaker groups. Results showed no significant modifications of speech rate; articulation differences were between…

Faculty ratings by academic staff and students in a new Australian higher education institution were compared on 21 criteria of lecturing performance. Faculty placed more emphasis on a range of performance criteria, while students stressed pace of presentation. Analysis revealed differences in the two groups' schematic models. Both agree that the…

Examines the poor professional preparation of college students for postgraduate employment. The article maintains that students are unprepared to teach upper-division courses in second-language instruction. A lecture series to address problems in teaching these courses was developed and offered as a minicourse. (CK)

Research in English for Academic Purposes has begun to show that non-native speakers of English have much difficulty in English academic listening at American universities. Chinese students, who are from a very different educational system and cultural environment, experience special challenges in English academic listening. This paper focuses on…

In response to policy developments in higher education in the UK, the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (ILTHE--now merged in the Higher Education Academy) was established in 1999 to provide a national framework for teaching and learning at tertiary level. This article considers the training environment of novice lecturers…

This paper culminates three years of research on the use of various teaching technologies and methods by the faculty of Adelphi University School of Business in Garden City, New York. Previously, papers on this research were published on the development of the research instrument, the administration and data analysis for full time faculty (Part…

If librarians want to be given faculty status, they must become more involved in the instructional process. Part of that responsibility is to help inform faculty of the ineffectiveness of the lecture-textbook method in educating undergraduate students and to demonstrate that practical and constructive alternatives exist. (MSE)

Presents the results of a two-page survey asking introductory psychology instructors to rate the effectiveness of 22 teaching techniques that focus on improving student performance. Finds that in-class examples/activities, writing assignments, emphasis on core concepts in lectures and examinations, and providing a copy of the lecture outline were…

Describes ten common technical mistakes most graduate teaching assistants make while teaching, such as projecting a weak presence, relying too heavily on their notes, posing vague questions, and not reinforcing student participation. Offers suggestions for correcting the mistakes. States that faculty might want to monitor their own teaching…

Describes the experience of teaching psychology at Tartu University and Tallinn Pedagogical University in Estonia. Discusses the lessons learned by teaching in Estonia and applies those lessons to teaching psychology in the United States, focusing on the benefits teachers reap when they become more aware of themselves and their audiences. (CMK)

Research exploring language use has identified several language features that differentiate men and women. Research also concludes that men's and women's writing are rated differently as well, with women's writing rated higher on socio-emotional and aesthetic quality and men's writing rated higher on dynamism. Despite these differences, casual…

The extent of use of the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), also called the Keller Plan, at a large university campus was investigated. Attention was also directed to the features of PSI used: mastery criterion, self-pacing, proctors, number of times students could retake an exam, and the number of forms of each examination used. The PSI…