Teaching experiences in foreign countries suggest four critical areas of preparation for overseas teaching roles: patience and adaptability; anticipation of language and other communication problems; use of instructional techniques such as advance organizers and explanation of teacher expectations; and reduction of ethnocentric ideas, attitudes,…

In the cooperative controversy technique, two opposing sides are clearly drawn over a single issue, and learners on both sides cooperate to understand both sides and arrive at a personal position. Students respond enthusiastically to the exercise, are helped in exploring emotional responses to issues, and learn how, not what, to think. (MSE)

A study of written teacher comments on student papers in the University of Texas at Austin's program in writing across the curriculum found that the comments' instructional effectiveness was situational. Recommendations are made for enhancing their effectiveness by more awareness of student perceptions and need for assistance. (MSE)

A college professor found, unexpectedly, that students appreciated the opportunity to write journals as a class assignment, that they expressed themselves in varied and sometimes poignant ways, and that journal writing added a new and different dimension to the teacher-student relationship. The teacher's response to student entries was also…

This commentary on college writing instruction argues that writers' social responsibility should be made a major concern, that too much of creative writing in American academe exists in isolation from intellectual concerns, that realism should be simply one mode of American writing, and that workshops should be replaced with other methods of…

Monmouth College (New Jersey) paired one section of freshman composition with introductory sociology. This section focused on expository composition skills serving sociological inquiry, such as comparing and contrasting, critically analyzing written text, and supporting a position through reasoned argument. The paper discusses theoretical…

The college student who participates in genuine collaboration with a faculty member in an intellectual endeavor transcends the barrier of power. Once it has been breached, other power lines will be less constraining. The experience transforms the nature of learning and constructs a lasting authority in the student. (MSE)

Because college teaching aims to elevate, not entertain, it must be nourished and appreciated as a pedagogical alchemy mixing facts and feelings, ideas and skills, history and mystery. The current debate on educational reform should focus more on quality of learning experience, and on how to create and sustain it. (MSE)

Examples from academia and management suggest that, if higher education is to improve, its teachers must love their subject; be committed to its importance; and want to convince students that it is exciting to learn and important not only to one's job, but also to one's life, philosophy, and value system. (MSE)

Small-group instructional diagnosis uses an outside facilitator to elicit college student feedback on instruction. At Purdue University (Indiana), the technique has been successfully used in 46 departments. It is usually conducted at midterm, is nondirective, is oral, uses consensus, tends to produce honest responses, and is externally controlled.…

Literature and liberal arts college students' early research experience usually stresses methodology and is carefully structured and supervised. In advanced work, students must begin to develop habits of critical thinking, personal involvement with their material, and development of a metacritical attitude. (MSE)

A 1910 report by Morris Cooke for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching provides a historical perspective on the current debate on the role of teaching, research, and publication by college faculty. Cooke analyzed physics department efficiency in eight institutions, applying to college administration insights from the new field…

A study at Cleveland State University (Ohio) compared the effectiveness of conventional mathematics instruction given to 190 students with an alternative course in mathematical reasoning given to 120 students as preparation for a required course in real analysis. Results show the alternative method effective in raising both pass rate and grades in…

A history teacher and a Spanish teacher describe the setbacks and successes of an interdisciplinary team-teaching experience in the history and literature of Central America at St. Norbert College (Wisconsin). The course, evaluation by both students and an experienced team teacher, and development of a new syllabus are discussed. (MSE)

The excerpt from the Carnegie Report stresses the need for a more inclusive definition of a scholar; recognition that knowledge is acquired through research, synthesis, practice, and teaching; use of "creativity contracts" that broaden, individualize, and give continuity to faculty careers; and aggressive support of teaching in research…