Twenty-eight prospective English teachers at a large midwestern state university participated in this study of what they believe literature to be and what criteria they apply in choosing texts they would teach. Although the prospective teachers reported that they had not been taught explicit criteria for evaluating texts, they had no difficulty…

A study was done of higher education faculty members' views of ethics in relation to academics and the use of a professor's own text or a fellow faculty member's text as a course requirement. A questionnaire was sent to 210 accounting professors selected at random of whom 53 percent responded. The response rate alone indicated a widespread…

The study examined the role of the textbook, not as a teaching tool but as an artifact in the professional culture of higher education faculty. The three areas of focus were visibility and review, selection criteria, and scholarly engagement and reward. The study was structured in terms of institutional or professional culture to determine if…

The first section of this paper concerns definitions and concepts of multicultural education, multiculturalism, and the means of achieving cross-cultural functioning. Section 2 deals with the major objectives of multicultural education. These objectives are discussed in relation to the introduction of concepts of multicultural education into the…

There are numerous ways to structure the introduction to film course so as to meet the needs of the different types of students who typically enroll. Assuming there is no production component in the course, the teacher is left with two major approaches to choose from--historical and aesthetic. The units in the course will typically be built around…

Over one million students are enrolled in basic college speech courses each year, providing big business for publishers and authors of speech texts and an opportunity for abuse by faculty who have authored a text or who want to curry favor with a department head who has authored a text. Most multisection basic course programs taught by graduate…

Although there are many college freshman writing textbooks on the market, the selection of a textbook can be made simpler by following a number of guidelines. Teachers should examine textbooks they consider using to make certain the books contain the following elements: (1) appropriate readability for users; (2) textual features, such as self-help…

Most speech communication curricula have room for only three organizational courses: (1) business and professional speech communication (B and P), usually offered to freshmen and sophomores; (2) an introduction to organizational communication, presented to sophomores and upper-class students; and (3) a seminar in organizational communication, for…

Recommends that historians select textbooks which reflect the economic and natural resource issues shaping the twentieth-century American experience. A review of relevant monographs and textbooks is presented. (Author/DB)

Presents a study that reviewed introductory psychology textbooks to examine the perception of extensive similarity. Focuses on six dimensions: (1) chapter topics, organization, and extent of topic coverage; (2) core concepts and key terms; (3) pedagogical aids and data graphs; (4) critical-thinking programs; (5) reference citations; and (6) level…

Describes how the Freshman English curriculum at Ramapo College was altered to include works by non-Western authors. Focuses on problems teachers faced in choosing texts and becoming familiar with new bodies of literature in a short period of time. Reports that students enjoyed their experiences in reading and writing about non-Western literature.…

Contends that, because of rising textbook costs and related factors, many college psychology teachers are interested in paperback textbooks. Reports on a review of 11 psychology textbooks. Includes 4 tables of comparison data and a list of the 11 texts used in the study. (CFR)

The accuracy of 210 college undergraduates' judgments of the relative learnability of original (Army training manuals) and rewritten (war or cultural histories) versions of 20 pairs of texts of known difficulty was studied. Students were 95 percent accurate in their judgments of learnability. Implications for college textbook selection are…

Relates the authors' experience teaching technical writing for two weeks at Suzhou University in China. Discusses activities; examines four technical writing textbooks purchased there; and offers suggestions about how technical communication might be established as a separate academic discipline in Chinese universities. Discusses technical…

Discusses the five main tasks of delivering a regional geography course that engages the students in active study of foreign language texts: (1) planning the syllabus and scheduling; (2) selection of texts; (3) study guides and class activities; (4) student recruitment; and (5) course evaluation. (CMK)