Compared attitudes, interests, and values of students in physical geology and environmental earth science courses. Significant differences were not found as indicated by comparisons of precourse/postcourse scores. Interpretation of the results and descriptions of the two courses are provided. (JN)

Since adult students' expectations and classroom experiences for foreign language study may vary greatly, an extra phase of training is recommended to introduce them to the types of activity and study attitudes expected of them. Components for this phase and a sample outline are offered. (Author/MSE)

Describes the implementation and impact of a two-semester mastery-oriented astrophysics sequence for upper-level physics/astrophysics majors designed to handle flexibly a wide range of student backgrounds. A Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) format was used fostering frequent student-instructor interaction and role-modeling behavior in…

Interrogates the reading/writing connection by evaluating how three essays by published writers affected the attitude and writing practices of university students in a course on the personal essay. Describes the course. Suggests what findings imply for current rationales about the reading/writing connection and for the use of anthology readings in…

Describes a course for undergraduate elementary education majors on children's literature of emerging nations, aiming to make students (1) aware of their unquestioned cultural assumptions; (2) aware of the value of cultures different from, and opposed to, their own; and (3) think critically about culture, basing their values on understanding…

Discusses how an intermediate-level French theater practicum helped students develop advanced language skills by focusing their attention on the performance aspects of Alfred Jarry's play "Ubu roi" rather than the traditional foreign language curriculum. (Contains 14 references.) (MDM)

An attempt to portray the nature of the learning task in university engineering courses is presented. Introductory courses are described first and are then compared to the upper level courses. Emphasis is put on three introductory courses to determine what skills students bring into the introductory course, what the learning task is, and how…

An opinion survey was mailed to former education graduate students in order to assess the effectiveness of an introductory educational research course given at Memphis State University (Tennessee). The purposes of the study were to determine the extent to which the course was helpful to students: (1) in subsequent graduate courses; (2) in their…

This paper outlines a 9-week program for the acquisition of basic psychotherapeutic knowledge, attitudes, and skills for pre-practicum graduate students in professional psychology. Basic to the design of the described program are assumptions that participants have previously acquired, and demonstrated, proficiency in interactional skills which are…

The William Perry model of learning is directly parallel to what has been learned about writing processes. He observed that the student is essentially a dualist who sees everything as right or wrong. This stance of absolute acceptance wavers when the student encounters varieties of or disagreements among truths, thus gradually evolving into the…

Diversity and change seem to be the central experiences of Western peoples at this point in the twentieth century. Students, now more than ever, need to be given a sense of hope and of the perfectability of humankind. This commentary provides impressionistic description of issues and experiences in the teaching of interdisciplinary humanities…

The status of probability and statistics in the current Japanese curriculum is discussed. Data from the Second International Mathematics Study are cited, and the course of study is included. (MNS)

In an open university History of Science course a unit was written to provide basic information on quantum theory for students with arts and social science background in order to enable these students to handle the Bohr-Einstein debate. An evaluation of the unit showed that it achieved its purpose. (Author/MLW)

Papers presented include: (1) CORE science--an exploratory study of pupils' perceptions of their science course; (2) chemistry and science philosophy; (3) taxonomy of scientific words (focusing on language of science, science words, theories of meaning, uses/implications of the taxonomy); and (4) description of experimental studies, a 16+ work…