Discusses how critical multiculturalism can be used to inform academic service learning, offering as an example the case study of a Pennsylvania State University project in which college students work with homeless citizens in Washington, DC. Stresses the importance of intentionality in planning the community service components of academic service…

I report on a study of 301 sociologists to determine which concepts, topics, and skills they deem most important to cover in the introductory course and in the sociology curriculum. Respondents indicated high agreement that the list of skills, topics, and concepts adequately represented the range of possible items. I use both the raw ratings and…

In his position at Penn State University, this author teaches environmental studies (ES) students in core introductory, mid-level, and upper-level courses. As he teaches the first full batch of graduates in this year's Senior Seminar, the chorus is clear: environmental history has played a distinct role in bringing coherence to their ES curricula.…

This study examined curriculum deliberation and decision-making in higher education through selected interviews with 11 university teachers in 11 different disciplines. All were full-time and tenure-track or already tenured. After completing individual interviews the participants gathered for a culminating discussion. Examination of the data found…

Most institutions teach ethics in some academic disciplines, but such efforts are usually experiential and are typically designed to reach student leaders and judicial offenders. This packet summarizes six model ethics programs which were identified as being comprehensive--they reached all or most of their students. The sample programs here were…

Five positions on the nature and purpose of basic studies in the college curriculum are considered. The five positions are summarized as follows: (1) to develop essential skills; (2) to introduce students to disciplines of knowledge; (3) to introduce students to the basic modes of thinking or ways of knowing; (4) to develop understanding and…

A survey was conducted of a college faculty of 253 to assess faculty attitudes toward governance, teaching, curriculum and students. A modified, abbreviated form of the Carnegie Foundation Faculty Survey was developed. The response rate was 67%. Results included the following: (1) 67% indicated that their writing had been published, or their…

A summary of major writings on college and pre-college curriculum literature are presented in this report, which is an early step in establishing a framework for the research program of the NCRIPTAL (National Center for Research in Postsecondary Teaching and Learning) Program on Curricular Integration and Student Goals. Section 1 on the literature…

In an attempt to meet increasing student demands for family life courses at the college level, one university has experimented with and learned much from the use of recorded television tapes as an innovative approach to effective instruction. Televised classes are a unique medium unlike lecture, seminar, or textbooks; both instructors and students…

There is no one test or approach that is sufficient to serve all the objectives and purposes of assessment within the major. A multidimensional approach combining locally developed procedures such as theses, portfolios, orals, external examiners, with standardized tests is an effective strategy. (Author/MSE)

Despite the resurgence of the liberal arts, an undergraduate curriculum still requires a synthesis of liberal and practical learning. (Author/MSE)

The introductory course has a variety of objectives for both students and the college, including recruitment and screening of majors, provision of prerequisite knowledge, explorations of learning, developing commitment to college, and cognitive development. Fostering these goals depends on the students, faculty, and classroom climate. (MSE)

Introductory psychology courses are often designed as technical, preprofessional courses for majors, but they should instead offer a view of human nature. A Wesleyan University course was designed on the notion of the psychological human, and covered the functions of perception and memory, cognitive processes, the social dimension of human nature,…

Teaching the large introductory science course is a challenge, but when the objective is seen not as covering the field but uncovering part of it to illustrate principles common to the whole, the facts are no longer the end result but tools with which the disciplines can be further explored. (Author/MSE)

The problem in promoting general education across the college curriculum is fundamentally attitudinal. Faculty must (1) recognize that general education coupled with a major is good vocational education, (2) prepare themselves to teach general education, and (3) convince students of its value. (MSE)