In two Chicago high schools, students taking the traditional 40-week course in United States history were compared to students taking 4 10-week minicourses. No significant differences were found in learning or student attitudes. (SJL)

Medical students' attitudes towards concepts in sexuality before and after a five-day sexuality course were tested at the University of Miami School of Medicine and evaluated with Osgood's Semantic Differential. Concepts rated were "my sexuality,""masturbation,""homosexuality," and "my role in understanding…

Examined was the effect of the establishment of mini-courses on student attitudes in a small rural high school setting. All students in grades 9-12 were given the School Sentiment Index (SSI) and the Subject Area Preference (SAP) in the early fall and near the end of the school year. Completed by 205 students (118 boys and 87 girls), the SSI…

Cosumnes River College adopted a Flexible Calendar Program in 1975, reducing the traditional eighteen-week semesters to sixteen weeks and adding a three-week intersession which has been the focal point of change at the college, especially in approaches to learning and teaching. For students, the fifteen, non-instructional days allowed time to…

Summer Tech '84 was the product of a joint venture of the College of Education of Ohio State University and the Columbus Ohio Public Schools to provide instruction on the use of microcomputers to citizens of the Columbus metropolitan area. For four weeks, 80 different 10-hour classes were offered in eight areas: introductory computer literacy,…

This minicourse guide for teachers of French is intended to help motivate and prepare students for travel in France. Activities are outlined in eleven related areas, including (1) planning for the trip, (2) currency, (3) going through customs, (4) tipping, (5) shopping, (6) guided tours, (7) touring on your own, (8) social life and entertainment,…

Describes the mini course program in operation at Westfield, New Jersey, High School. (MB)

An anonymous suvey was administered to all students completing learning skills minicourses (n=141) during the fall 1976 semester at El Camino College (California). The survey was designed to provide information for the purposes of identifying and evaluating the recruitment strategies for and enrollment motivations of students completing the…

Academic anxiety, person/group relations, and subject satisfaction were investigated in three secondary schools in various stages of curriculum reform: a traditional school, a school in which a short-course elective program was being implemented, and a school in which such a program was fully implemented. Attitude measures were completed by 482…

This study shows that a one-credit library research course designed around workbook/exercise module and bibliography assignment helps students learn library skills and results in improved attitude toward library. Pre/post tests were administered to experimental and control groups to assess skill and attitude level. Test and semantic differential…

Research literature dealing with physicians' attitudes toward alcoholism, reasons for their feelings, and attempts to change them through teaching is reviewed. It is suggested that, due to the limited time in the medical school curriculum, emphasis should be on physician attitudes. A Yale-VA Medical Center course on alcoholism is described.…

With enrollments in the social sciences declining markedly and their educational values being deemphasized, a new approach must be taken to social sciences instruction. Social science courses are antiquated, need revision, fail to offer enough job relevance to draw most students, are taught too conservatively, and no longer enjoy a protected…

This final report on field testing of minicourses in undergraduate biology lists the objectives, procedures, applications, and conclusions of the project in which twelve schools utilizing minicourses, developed at Purdue University, were sampled. Data were collected and analyzed on student achievement, student attitude changes, and student…

This study assessed some of the cognitive and affective elements for both the traditional and mini curricula. The hypothesis, stated in the null form, was there will be no difference between students in the mini-course curriculum and the traditional curriculum on a number of stated cognitive variables (focusing on critical thinking and reading…

A study examined the effects of instruction in the use of the Internet and prior computer experience on the concerns preservice teachers have about the use of technology in teaching. Subjects were 53 college sophomores, all elementary education majors and members of classes studying the foundations of reading. Participants were surveyed using the…