A three-year joint project of the Community College of Philadelphia and Beaver College (Pennsylvania) sought to raise transfer aspirations and improve the related skills of minority and low-income students, through a five-week residential program including two interdisciplinary courses co-taught by faculty from both institutions. Most powerful…

Discusses use of two central forms of argument, analogy and inference to the best explanation, in teaching college science. It is argued that science makes sense if the underlying reasoning makes sense, and this must be explicitly addressed in instruction. Therefore, forms of argument that link evidence to hypotheses or theories, and criteria for…

Based on the idea that the skills needed to mentor a college faculty member in development of a reflective teaching portfolio are similar to those a composition teacher uses for student consultation, the process and guiding principles used by one mentor are described. Issues of portfolio organization and sources for objective feedback are also…

One college history teacher finds lively and constructive classroom discussion in a survey course is primarily a result of the teacher's attitudes toward and assumptions about students. The teacher must create a safe atmosphere in which students can speak, and be direct and respectful with students, which clears the classroom of anxiety and…

Two studies, one quantitative and another qualitative, of learning style preferences of physical education majors are reviewed. The quantitative study investigated variation in relation to gender, age, and ethnicity and how preferences compared to those found in other disciplines. The qualitative study identified common themes in student…

Discussion of the culturally diverse college student population focuses on how teacher understanding of that diversity (in which the students are experts), and on how it can inform the classroom culture can help defuse tensions and become a source for teaching. Dynamics of the culturally and linguistically diverse classroom are outlined and…

Few college teachers understand the process learners go through during periods of insight, large or small. Many treat this transition from one paradigm of knowledge to another as purely cognitive when, in fact, it is also highly emotional. A model of the transition is presented and a reflective guide is offered to help teachers facilitate this…

Describes a schedule for college classroom "preventive maintenance" that focuses on four classroom components: classroom community; students; course content; and faculty. A checklist allows assessment of these components during specific time periods in the semester, and a tune-up kit that includes diagnostic questions, sources of relevant…

Examines issues in monitoring students' growth and performance as they progress through a training program. These include ensuring faculty and advisor access to evaluation information; demonstrating student growth while remediating weaknesses; and tracking trends in student work. A model for developing a continuous assessment project at one…

Argues that epidemiology, the study of disease in populations, is an ideal upper-level course for undergraduate liberal arts curricula because it offers a forum for learning and applying critical-thinking skills, as well as other skills important for the liberally educated student, such as analysis of political, social, and demographic contexts…

Examines key psychological principles in contemporary theories of learning (constructivism) and highlights conceptual connections between them and aspects of critical thinking and epistemological maturity described by the reflective judgment model of adult intellectual development. Also describes an undergraduate psychology lesson that bridges…

Examines use of video portfolios as a pedagogical and self-evaluation tool in college-level basic public-speaking courses, including a review of literature, explanation of the video portfolio concept, strategies for application within a curriculum, discussion of pedagogical benefits, and suggestions for educators. The method is seen as providing…

Outlines a method college teachers can use to create a course mission statement by considering the course in terms of desired processes and outcomes. The method serves both to help instructors and students work toward the same goals and as a tool for evaluating the effectiveness of particular pedagogies and content. A case study illustrates the…

Outlines a model for research-based learning (RBL) in undergraduate study, using thematic, collaborative research and related activities as learning tools. The results of a four-year project illustrate that RBL serves more students than traditional undergraduate research models, encourages faculty-student interaction, stimulates new scholarship,…

Research-based learning (RBL) is a model for merging research and undergraduate education. To link RBL with a curriculum across the institution, the authors used discipline-specific RBL strands, each of which is a set of interconnected course options that couple out-of-class research experiences with an established curriculum. Student learning is…