The First Year of the First Little College

Abstract

Every college and university professor, whether over a cup of coffee with a colleague or while a member of a formally constituted committee, has discussed the many problems of courses, students, and curricula. We compare reading lists, types of examinations, and course objectives. We reflect on the perceived needs of our students, and argue over the prerequisites and distribution requirements established by our colleges in the best interests of the student. Also, we experiment increasingly with new teaching techniques and with new course offerings. Indeed, so many of us are trying new approaches to education that innovation for the sake of innovation may have become a vogue. This is a report on one academic experiment-Bowling Green University's Little College course called The Making and Manipulation of Images. The course was conceived during the winter quarter of 1970, planned and replanned during the spring and summer, and finally offered as an experimental program in the fall of that year. Eighty-eight freshmen completed Images as an interdisciplinary, experimental course carrying eight quarter-hours of