One teacher's method of obtaining useful feedback from students in large lecture classes involves creation of a small committee of students, mirroring the class' diversity, that receives input from students on all course aspects, meets with the teacher to discuss and make recommendations, provides feedback on progression of the course, and reacts…

Using data on degree completion among black and white community college students, a study investigated how rates in different postsecondary programs vary for blacks and whites, changes over the course of the 1980s, and institutional characteristics encouraging program completion for the two groups. The most striking result was a decline in…

Discusses why science needs science fiction, commenting on the author's book about science that draws heavily on the "Star Trek" series. The best science, in spite of popular thinking, comes from leaps of intuition, and science fiction provides a creative spark that encourages participation in science. (SLD)

Describes a philosophy of teaching inspired by a love of the discipline being taught and the desire of the professor to give students something of substance and be fulfilled by their responses. (SLD)

Considers how what one is shapes what one knows about the world, and how one can become aware of the conceptual shackles imposed by one's own identity and experiences. Discusses the construction of knowledge by the interaction between the questioner and the world. (SLD)

Describes a project at Bergen Community College, New Jersey, that attempts to develop a "sense of place" in students so that their private stake in a place can become a public concern and a personal issue. (SLD)

Recounts the process by which a college teacher became a teacher, specifically a teacher of writing. The experience of being taught by exceptional teachers created the desire to be such a teacher himself. (SLD)

Reflects on the relationships among higher education, democracy, and the public sphere in a time of economic constraints and a decline of state support for public education that transcends the merely economic. The decline in the competence of those who participate in the public "conversation" is something higher education must address. (SLD)

Explores the challenges and criticism that some faculty members and the academy encountered following September 11, 2001, and highlights the notable efforts college faculty have made to engage their students, transform the classroom, and invigorate the academy while preserving academic freedom. (SLD)

Discusses learning as a complex and messy process, and uses the ideas of Paolo Freire to describe the college teacher as one who faces students "face to face" as a knower facing other knowers. The neighborhood of education is the minds of students; faculty members are the transients in this neighborhood. (SLD)

Describes the experiences of a teacher researcher on a Fulbright fellowship in Guatemala in the development of local historical projects and the involvement of local people in the research behind the historical projects. (SLD)

In an interview, the president of the National Education Association (NEA) discusses issues in higher education, including the NEA's role, relationships between higher education and elementary-secondary education, professionalism and the union, technological advancement, the role of postsecondary education, allocation of educational resources,…

A college teacher describes his approach to student subject-area writing, which includes assignment of several short papers to be written according to carefully prescribed guidelines (appended to the article), clear grading criteria, high expectations, availability for individual conferences, rewards for improvement, encouragement of writing for…

Reviews research concerning the effectiveness of Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) in higher education, focusing on what it demonstrates about WAC's value in improving subject-area knowledge and writing skills. Concludes that the approach can be effective, but that collaborative, inclusive effort to implement it is needed, including teacher…

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires reasonable accommodations for the disabled in public and private colleges and universities. Faculty must understand the difference between equal opportunity and equal treatment. Specific suggestions are made for teaching learning-disabled, mobility- impaired, visually-impaired, and hearing-impaired…