University General Education Research Articles

Electrical engineering for the liberal arts: radio and its history

A course for liberal arts students on the engineering and physics of radio is described. An historical presentation of the subject is given in the classroom. The course is suitable as part of the science requirement in university general education curricula and can serve as a model for how, using history, electrical engineering can be taught to students majoring in the liberal arts.

Levande hebreiska i Norden på 1500–1700-talen

The study of Hebrew was part of general university education in the Lutheran countries from the 16th till the beginning of the 19th century. The Holy Tongue – alongside Latin and Greek – was employed by scholars for writing gratulations, condolences and festive poems in dissertations and commemorative publications issued in honour of their colleagues, patrons, friends and relatives. In addition to Hebrew some philologists displayed their knowledge of Aramaic, Syriac and Arabic in the same genres. From booklets relating to Finland printed between 1584 and 1807 I have collected 68 examples of this kind of “living” Hebrew (55 texts), Aramaic (six out of eleven texts are in Syriac) and Arabic (2 texts)&&three Syriac poems are printed in Syriac characters, the others in Hebrew script. Of these a number of examples are presented in this paper. The description consists of translations into Swedish, bibliographical notes on the persons involved in the texts, philological notes on the biblical, Mishnaic and mediaeval features as well as errors in their Hebrew, and new words coined by the writers for want of Hebrew counterparts for contemporary terms. These trends in linguistic development can be compared with those of the kaskalah period and the rise of modern Hebrew. In the period of their compilation, the Hebrew dedications and poems were understood within the circle of academic readers. Since the 19th century, however, the texts written in Semitic languages became “all Greek”, even to literary historians. It is to be hoped that plans for publication of this kind of exotic literature will be implemented both in Finland and in other countries.

Views about science — technology — society interactions held by college students in general education physics and sts courses

AbstractThis study examined whether and to what extent a general education STS and physics courses helped college students build more informed, realistic views about the interactions among science, technology, and society. Two samples took part in the study, one consisting of 138 college students enrolled in a general education STS course, STS 200‐Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society, and the other comprising 122 college students enrolled in a general education physics course, PHYS 001‐The Science of Physics, at a large eastern land grant university. Pretest and posttest data were collected using 16 multiple‐choice items selected from the 114 items in the Views on Science‐Technology‐Society (VOSTS) item pool. The findings for each of the 16 VOSTS items were treated descriptively. Additionally, a special scoring procedure was devised for the VOSTS items to allow the use of inferential statistics. The STS students moved toward more “realistic” views of STS interactions on a number of VOSTS items and toward more “naive” views on other VOSTS items. The findings supported the value of general education STS courses. However, they also suggested that courses like STS 200 have room for improvement. The PHYS 001 course had almost no impact on students' views of STS interactions. It should not be expected that college general education science courses, such as PHYS 001, will help students develop more adequate, realistic understandings of the STS interactions. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Evaluating College Programs Using Measures of Student Achievement and Growth

Within the context of the national debate on improving the quality of college general education programs, this paper provides a brief review of the validity and reliability of some measures of general education outcomes of college attendance. It reports on research to improve the accuracy of concordance estimates of mean gains based on analysis of 22, 4-year, longitudinal studies, using instruments from the College Outcome Measures Program (COMP). It examines sensitivity to treatment effects of mean gains across all levels of entering ability. It presents evidence that institutions can collect and use outcome data in ways that may lead to changes that increase student performance.

Evaluating College Programs Using Measures of Student Achievement and Growth

Within the context of the national debate on improving the quality of college general education programs, this paper provides a brief review of the validity and reliability of some measures of general education outcomes of college attendance. It reports on research to improve the accuracy of concordance estimates of mean gains based on analysis of 22, 4-year, longitudinal studies, using instruments from the College Outcome Measures Program (COMP). It examines sensitivity to treatment effects of mean gains across all levels of entering ability. It presents evidence that institutions can collect and use outcome data in ways that may lead to changes that increase student performance.

A COUNSELING SERVICE'S REVIEW OF A GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Colleges and universities across the country are currently examining the goals and commitments they have made to undergraduate education in general and to the freshman and sophomore years in particular. One of the most important aspects of undergraduate education is a university's general education program. In the spirit of review, UCLA's Academic Counseling Service recently studied that university's general education program. This article reflects the results of that study and demonstrates the ways in which any general education curriculum can be modified so that students can acquire requisite academic skills, not just academic content, that will help them beyond their college years. The authors acknowledge, however, that many of the ideas presented here derive from the work of others, but their synthesis should provide a useful new protocol for curricular review.

General hypergeometric functions on complex Grassmannians

K. Aomoto, "On the structure of integrals of power product of linear functions," Sc. Papers College General Education, Univ. Tokyo, 27, 49-61 (1977). I. M. Gelfand and R. MacPherson, "Geometry in Grassmannians and a generalization of the dilogarithm," Adv. Math., 44, No. 3, 279-312 (1982). I. M. Gel'fand and A. V. Zelevinskii, "Algebraic and combinatorial aspects of the general theory of hypergeometric functions," Funkts. Anal. Prilozhen., 2__0, No. 3, 17-34 (1986). I. M. Gel'fand, "General theory of hypergeometric functions," Doki. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 288, No. i, 14-18 (1986). I. M. Gel'fand and S. I. Gel'fand, "Generalized hypergeometric equations," Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 288, No. 2, 279-283 (1986). I. M. Gel'fand, S. G. Gindikin, and M. I. Graev, "Integral geometry in affine and projective spaces," Sovr. Probl. Mat. (VINITI), 16, 53-226 (1980). I. M. Gel'land and M. I. Graev, "Duality theorem for general hypergeometric functions," Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 289, No. i, 19-23 (1986). V. A. Vasil'ev, I. M. Gel'fand, and A. V. Zelevinskii, "Behavior of general hypergeometric functions in the complex domain," Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 290, No. 2, 277-281 (1986). A. G. Khovanskii, "Newton polyhedra and toral manifolds," Funkts. Anal. Prilozhen., 1_~.1, No. 4, 56-67 (1977).

Personal computing and liberal education: A higher-education case study

With support from IBM, faculty members at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed PC-based teaching and learning software to supplement the University's general education curriculum. Over twenty faculty-developed software packages are now in use at the University and soon will be “published”. The services organized to assist this curriculum development effort have evolved into a campus-wide infrastructure in support of educational applications of personal computing. The University's experience indicates that new and evolving technologies can strengthen the traditional environment of higher education. This experience is offered as an institutional perspective on which educational policies, faculty development programs, and support services are more likely to “integrate computing into the curriculum” while also establishing a viable vantage point for continuing to deal with the impact of technology on teaching and learning.

4. 何のための物理教育か : 教養学部での現状(I. シンポジウム「高校・大学接点での物理教育」,日本物理学会1983年秋の分科会・物理教育分科の報告,学会報告)

4. 何のための物理教育か : 教養学部での現状(I. シンポジウム「高校・大学接点での物理教育」,日本物理学会1983年秋の分科会・物理教育分科の報告,学会報告)

Self-Paced and Semi-Programmed Physical Geology Laboratory

The introductory physical geology laboratory offered through the General College of the University of Minnesota follows a modified Keller Plan/P.S.I. structure. It has a semi-self-paced, semi-programmed, non-audio-visual format based on weekly units where students may spend as much time as they wish each week gaining required knowledge and skills before taking a weekly quiz which is based on mineral specimens, rock specimens, or maps. This approach uses “practice quizzes” as an anxiety reducer and as a way of securing individualized help from the undergraduate teaching assistants (geology majors) who staff the lab. Weekly instruction involves the use of “learning booklets” which guide the students at their own rates in a step-by-step fashion through that week's information by continuously posing questions to the students. Students obtain instantaneous reinforcement of acquired knowledge by consulting accompanying “answer booklets.” The College's general education students strongly approve of this lab appr...

State Policymakers and Time-Shortened Degree Programs

State policymakers' attitudes toward time-shortened degree programs were investigated through a questionnaire sent to legislators and directors of statewide governing or coordinating boards. A review of formal state actions suggests little attention paid to the concept; however, the questionnaire indicated agreement among policymakers with the concept as an option for students. The option is thought to appeal more to the older student. Credit by examination and early college entrance are seen as among the best methods of time shortening; reducing high school graduation requirements and reducing college general education, among the poorest means.

Community College General Education Enrichment Through Community Action

Community College General Education Enrichment Through Community Action

Minicourses in Biology: A Nonmajor "Turn on"

Ir IS ALMOST TRADITION that introductory college biology courses for nonmajor students result in low student interest and achievement. In fact, many nonmajors dislike science academically and philosophically and would not choose to enroll in these courses were it not for curriculum requirements. Biology educators obviously face a significant challenge when offering a nonmajor introductory course. They must recognize the problems inherent in offering this type of course, and indeed, many do. However, it seems that many institutions still offer traditional introductory nonmajor biology that emphasizes concepts the students are not interested in learning. Consequently, nonmajor students continue to be disinterested. The introductory nonscience-major biology course at the University of Northern Colorado was no exception. Our course (Science 104) was a traditional three-lecture-per-week, three-credit course that represented partial fulfillment of the science requirement of the university's general education requirements. Interest and achievement in Science 104 was low, attendance was poor, and it was apparent that a change was in order. It has been suggested (Romey and Dean 1971) that the primary goal for introductory courses should be to create a stimulating environment in which the student can appreciate and enjoy science, and that intrinsic motivation in a course of this type exists only when students are able to make decisions about what to study and how to study it. With this in mind, we developed a series of minicourses in an attempt to accommodate flexibility and intrinsic motivation.

An Analysis of Some Views of University General Education in Japan Today

An Analysis of Some Views of University General Education in Japan Today

Supernatural beliefs among graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania.

JAHODA1 at the University of Ghana and Pasachoff et al.2 at Harvard University have tested the hypotheses that (a) general university education leads to a decline in supernatural belief, and (b) scientific training in particular hastens this decline. Neither of these hypotheses was supported by the data presented. In both studies, however, only male undergraduates were examined. This suggests a natural extension of the basic paradigm to graduate students and female students. Examination of graduate students' beliefs is a further test of both hypotheses because graduate students have had both more university education and more experience and training in their particular field, for example, science. The addition of female students eliminates the possible bias effect due to testing of one sex only. This extension was carried out at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Relationship of Selected Variables to Performance of Junior College Transfer Students at Florida State University

The Florida State University grade point averages (GPA’s) of a sample of 398 junior-college transfers were related to the following variables: junior-college GPA, number of technical courses taken at the junior college, Florida Twelfth-Grade Test (FTGT) aptitude score, FTGT English score, FTGT social-science score, FTGT natural-science score, FTGT mathematics score, FTGT total score, load at Florida State University, lower-division courses taken, and deficiencies in Florida State University general education requirements. The results indicated that of this set of variables, only the junior-college GPA and FTGT scores had practical magnitude in a general linear prediction equation.

College general education science: Classroom‐laboratory facilities for a program

College general education science: Classroom‐laboratory facilities for a program

College general education science: Examination of a program

College general education science: Examination of a program

Longitudinal Evaluation of Nonintellectual Changes Associated with a Special Two-Year Humanities Program

Measures of dogmatism, ethnocentrism, and authoritarianism were administered to freshmen invitees to a special Humanities Program and again 2 yr. later. Mean changes on the three scales were reported for two groups: (a) Ss who accepted the invitation and completed the sequence and (b) Ss who declined the invitation and completed the college general education requirements in the conventional “collection of courses” fashion. Both groups changed significantly toward decreased dogmatism, ethnocentrism, and dogmatism but Group (a) had the largest net change from an initially lower level on each of the scales.

Mathematics in general education

A survey of requirements and recommendations for mathematics in college general education programs in the United States.