This study examined critical thinking instruction in a required introductory communication course (N = 324). Experimental group participants received enhanced instruction using various active learning strategies, activities, and assignments. Results indicate significant improvement in their critical thinking skills. Implications for pedagogy and…

General education classrooms provide a common milieu for understanding and appropriating results of classroom research projects, which are typically viewed as having little application outside their original contexts. Here, results of an investigation into the "sophomore slump," where grades and class attendance rates typically suffer, are…

A broadened view of scientific literacy for general education revision is detailed, including the history, philosophy, and sociology of science and science and technology studies. We provide a case study from an interdisciplinary college, argue for the integration of science studies into general education curricula, and discuss barriers to success.

The influence of market forces on general education creates threats and opportunities that must be proactively addressed. This essay argues for understanding the rise of the marketplace and its influence on general education by exploring student consumerism as well as teaching and learning in a market-oriented environment. (Contains 1 figure.)

It is imperative to identify the impact of technological advancements on the quality of student learning. This article reports first-year undergraduate students' perceptions of and experiences with a Web-based writing support program. Two research questions guided the study: (1) What is the nature of first-year students' interactions with…

The purpose of this study of two undergraduate liberal arts core curricula was to answer the following questions: What was the impact on student humanitarian values of a traditional distribution general education core curriculum with a supplementary integrated intervention strategy that requires students to examine personal values and the values…

Stresses the importance of teaching the Greek classics so that they both "speak directly to the student" about matters of importance to modern life and provide an initiation into the ancient ways of life out of which they were written. (Editor)

Explains how one might teach the Romans so as to help students see "how to use the arts of reason and discourse" in addressing modern problems, many of which find antecedents in the Roman past. (Editor)

Shows how the giants of the Renaissance, from Dante to Shakespeare and Cervantes, can be taught so that they illustrate the dialectic of the cultural experience that produced them, and how the masterpieces of Italian literature can be used to suggest both national and universal qualities. (Editor/RK)

Reminds us that the concept of World Literature as literary study contributing to the humanistic goal of universal tolerance was first expressed by Goethe, and indicates several ways of teaching German literature with that goal in mind. (Editor)

Focuses on two of the proposed schemes in the International Baccalaureate Program's "The World Literature Teachers' Guide" (Geneva, 1972): that which examines the emergence of the individual in the Renaissance and the concept of the Absurd in contemporary literature. (Author/RK)

Explains some of the problems of teaching non-Western literature in a substantially Western educational curriculum, but indicates how it might be done nevertheless. (Editor)

Discusses the redesign of the sophomore literature course at Francis Marion University by an interdisciplinary team. Considers the three diverse epistemologies found in different disciplines, concluding that literary study is best pursued within the rhetorical tradition of analysis and disputation. (DMM)

Reports on the findings of the College Board's "Academic Preparation for College," with respect to the foreign language preparedness of secondary-school students. Reveals a shocking, intellectually crippling decline in student preparation. Supports the recommendations of the foreign language statement of the Green Book. (DMM)

Cites the Rockefeller Commission's findings regarding humanistic studies. Outlines steps for bringing humanism back to the humanities, e.g., by clarifying the humanities' substance and identity, elucidating a cogent and persuasive rationale for their study, and underscoring the importance of a cultural/humanistic context for vocational training.…