Remarkably few studies have examined the outcomes of sign language interpreting. Three experiments reported here examine deaf students' comprehension of interpreting in American Sign Language and English-based signing (transliteration) as a function of their sign language skills and preferences. In Experiments 1 and 2, groups of deaf students…

This study sought to describe graduate students' opinions of selected learning activities encountered in large-group, teacher-led instructional contexts. The subjects, 40 graduate students of instructional technology at a major western university, completed a questionnaire. The instrument asked subjects to rate each of ten alternative learning…

Students (N=78) enrolled in either the Fall, 1989 or Spring, 1990 semester of an urban university campus were studied to determine their preference for either the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI or Keller Plan) or the traditional lecture class in an undergraduate self-paced statistics class. (This was also the first self-paced course that…

Designed to compare instructional strategies and effectiveness of medical school faculty using both in-person and two-way television delivery systems, this paper presents classroom observation data obtained from presentations by seven faculty members of the College of Medicine at Texas A&M University over a 9-month period. It includes a…

A study was performed to examine the attitudes of adult students toward a new mode of instruction (individualized instruction including modularized self-paced units) and to determine course effectiveness in terms of completion rates and final examination results. The subjects were sixty-five adult students who were enrolled in two calculus classes…

Determined differences between lecture-demonstration and small-group laboratory approaches on students' (N=74) chemistry achievement and attitudes toward science. Findings indicate that students taught by the laboratory approach achieved better on immediate/delayed posttests than students taught by lecture-demonstration method. More desirable…

Reports on a study which evaluated student attitudes toward a new bibliographic instruction (BI) manual designed to address their individual needs and compares the results with those of previous studies on BI methods, i.e., lecture and discussion practicum versus a self-guided workbook. It is concluded that the new manual is regarded more…

A study compared American and international students' views about the usefulness of taking notes during English lecture presentations. Students differed in terms of their estimations of notetaking adequacy, time pressure experienced during listening and notetaking, and amount of notetaking. (Author/CB)

Evaluates the teaching and learning processes in a computer-supported first-year undergraduate course in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Surrey (England). Students saw the workshop delivery as being more interesting, effective, and efficient than lecture-based delivery; help from the tutor was seen as the most…

At Dickinson College (Pennsylvania), a workshop approach to teaching introductory physics, in which students alternate hands-on experience and theoretical discussion, has been effective in improving student attitudes toward the subject, helping students master concepts considered difficult to teach, making students comfortable with laboratory…

Collaboration between a public affairs faculty member and an instructional developer resulted in design of a learner-centered large lecture course. Evaluation after three years revealed which elements of the course format generated the most student interest and, in some cases, changed attitudes about learning in college. Suggestions are made for…

Reports findings of ethnographic research into second-language lectures conducted at a university in Hong Kong. Six sociocultural features of second-language lectures are discussed: purposes of lectures, roles of lecturers, styles of lecturing, simplification, listener behavior, and humor. (31 references) (Author/CK)

First-year students in genetics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, attend two general biology modules, one in each semester. Teaching involves four formal lectures per week of 45 min each, one 3-h practical, and one lecture period tutorial. These students, graduating from secondary education, are well schooled in rote learning but…

This article describes how a traditional biology lecture course was transformed into an interactive class. A review the activities used, changes made to grading policy, and practical tips for integration of active learning in the classroom are provided. Analysis of student responses to course assessments indicated that active learning experiences…