By asking assessment questions that have direct policy implications, a committee of Harvard advisors, faculty members, and administrators was able to implement specific and concrete on-campus advising initiatives. Only modest amounts of data were collected to effect meaningful changes in student behavior, course design, and assignments. Interviews…

Faculty members from the University of South Dakota attended the Curriculum Reform Institute offered by the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, WI, during the summer of 2002 to design a course sequence for elementary education majors that better meets their needs for both content and pedagogy based on the science education standards. The special…

The study described in this paper outlines an attempt to explore those factors that contribute to learning performance improvement in laboratory instruction. As a case study, the educational methodology involved in a basic microcontroller course was analyzed. Traditional lab sessions based on the control of peripherals with low interactivity have…

As a profession, engineering is not well understood by the general public. Engineers are perceived as "geeks" who love math and who have few interests outside of technical work. In short, the engineering profession has an image problem. In order to counteract this negative stereotyping, an engineering course for non-majors was developed…

The washback effect of tests on teaching has attracted considerable attention over recent years, but the critical question of how this translates into washback on learning remains under-explored. To address this issue, questionnaires relating to academic writing instruction were distributed to 108 learners from mainland China preparing for…

In search of better, more cost effective ways to deliver instruction and training, universities and corporations have expanded their use of e-learning. Although several studies suggest that online education and blended instruction (a "blend" of online and traditional approaches) can be as effective as traditional classroom models, few…

An adult continuing education course in introductory Spanish is described. In planning the course, special attention was given to making course objectives realistic for the target population; rather than undertake a traditional college-level syllabus, academic and grammar-oriented in nature, the course was designed to provide students with basic…

While research concerning feedback and cooperative learning is prevalent in educational literature, there has been little systematic research to support whether various types of feedback in cooperative learning situations can affect student performance. This study examines possible interactions among different types of computer-delivered feedback…

This study investigated the influence of a community-based heritage culture program on Chicano students in a southwestern suburban middle school. Subjects were 61 seventh- and eighth-grade students, all Chicanos, with little or no previous instruction in indigenous Mexican culture. The pre- and post-survey, administerd a week piro to and 3 weeks…

By applying the principles of total quality management (TQM), freshman composition can be taught in a way that focuses on the customer (the student), engenders a willingness for continuous improvement, builds quality into the process of writing, empowers the student to become responsible for his/her work, and allows students to make the necessary…

This paper discusses the remaking of the MIS (Management Information Systems) core course in a graduate business degree program. The graduate MIS course has many of the same problems as the undergraduate one, which has been described as "the widow maker." Several attempts to modify the course resulted in lower evaluations. The course…

Communication courses have a unique role to play in the education of the adult or nontraditional student in a community college. Because these classes are often one of the introductory courses and academic success may, to a large extent depend on the ability to use oral communication skills in the classroom. Communication courses provide an…

Designed to facilitate communication and understanding among college students of diverse ethnic backgrounds, the Building Bridges Program at Shippensburg University (Pennsylvania) used trained student facilitators to lead classroom discussions about intergroup relations. In addition, these minority and majority facilitators shared personal…

A sensitive topic can be used effectively in a class of English as a second language (ESL) if planned carefully. While there are the risks that non-native students will become embarrassed and withdrawn, or will develop negative feelings about American society, there are ways to minimize those risks. This can be done by considering the…

Classroom activities are presented to help teachers introduce general controversial issues and specific issues on nuclear power in their high school science, social studies, and English classes. Objectives are to help students understand the various techniques of persuasion; the relationship between bias, persuasion, and fact; how these techniques…