This study shows that college students taking a course as an elective have a significantly different perception of the course and the instructor than do students taking the same course as a requirement. (Author/RM)

This article examines the proposition that understanding politics and conveying that understanding depend on the teacher's ability to elucidate for and with students the debates from which the meanings of many important political concepts emerge. (Author/RM)

This study randomly sampled the students of three universities to determine whether or not enrollment in a specific academic discipline affected students' political attitudes, particularly their trust in government. Results show that for each college year there was an increased gap between the trust levels of students majoring in different…

This article describes the process used by a university committee which, in an effort to increase student enrollment, was given the task of studying what an introductory course in political science should include. (Author/RM)

A study examined the influence of student characteristics on ratings of political science instructors over a four-year period. Student characteristics examined were: reason for taking the course, attitude toward the subject matter, class, grade point average, grade currently being earned in the course, and major. (Author/RM)

Science fiction can be used for introducing and analyzing political concepts at the undergraduate level for either a specialized theory-oriented course such as Political Science Fiction or an Introduction to Political Science course. (Author/RM)

This is a new section of the journal which will provide periodic reviews of educational journals and articles which will be useful for undergraduate teaching in political science. In this issue 50 educational journals are reviewed. (Author/RM)

The objective of this article was to determine whether the "Personalized System of Instruction" would improve student performance in and satisfaction with an introductory political science course. The author concludes that "PSI" is appropriate for political science courses in which mastery of subject matter or skills is the object of the course.…

Tests the hypothesis that political science students using computer-based games in an American government course would achieve at a higher level and evaluate the games at least as favorably as traditional modes of instruction. Findings were positive. (DB)

Discusses the systematic assessment of student learning gains by means of pretest and posttest comparisons. This type of assessment is found to be a time consuming procedure but can be a valuable guide to teaching effectiveness when studied in conjunction with a questionnaire which provides feedback about students' opinions. (DB)

A discussion of the use of video tape presentations in political science courses to bring realism to the study of political institutions without resorting to the "politicians in residence" method. Indicates that the cost of creating these teaching materials is high but that they do offer potential as useful supplements to the more traditional…

Documents the effects of one teaching experiment using video tape presentations on the cognitive learning of undergraduate students in a large introductory political science course. Discusses student reaction and actual learning outcomes. (Author/DB)

Designed to assess the effects of self-grading on undergraduate learning and evaluation in a one semester constitutional law course, this study indicated that self-grading had no significant impact on learning but that it did encourage self-graders to evaluate themselves significantly higher than instructor graded students. (Author/DB)

Identifies some specific difficulties which foreign student have traditionally found in studying American Government on the college level. This article enumerates various remedies for these problems, including special textbook selection, lighter reading load, modification of testing procedures, and creation of an international student section in…

Improved understanding of political events and increased analytical skills are two contributions of a study of video taped media coverage of important political events, such as national elections. An appendix presents excerpts from the three major television networks' commentaries on election night 1972. (Author/DB)