Introductory American Government Course Research Articles

Test Manuals and Test Wiseness

Most college instructors that teach an introductory American government course use multiple choice questions on examinations. Do these instructors give the answers away during the examination? They may be doing so unintentionally. Furthermore, the manner in which they give away the answers may be helping a select group of students and penalizing others.Multiple choice questions may be written in such a way that students who are test-wise are given clues as to which answers are correct. Testwiseness has been defined as the ability to manifest test-taking skills which utilize the characteristics and formats of a test and/or test-taking situation in order to receive a score commensurate with the abilities being measured (Oakland & Weilert, 1971).

Interactive Data Analysis of the 1980 Election

By introducing data analysis techniques, analyzing current research in voting behavior, and using the computer for social science research, introductory American Government courses on the undergraduate level are undertaking ambitious goals. Using the SETUPS units for each presidential election since 1972, cadets at the Coast Guard Academy have engaged in a comprehensive approach to the study of American electoral behavior in an interactive data analysis mode. Although SETUPS modules are run at most colleges and universities in batch mode, there are imitations and drawbacks to batch mode. The Coast Guard Academy is able to utilize interactive data analysis as a result of its time-sharing arrangement with the Dartmouth College Time Sharing System (DCTS). In this article we will discuss the use of SETUPS in an interactive mode using the CIDAR interactive data analysis system.

TEACHING PUBLIC POLICY IN THE INTRODUCTORY AMERICAN GOVERNMENT COURSE

Policy Studies JournalVolume 11, Issue 1 p. 8-24 TEACHING PUBLIC POLICY IN THE INTRODUCTORY AMERICAN GOVERNMENT COURSE Robert C. Sahr, Robert C. Sahr Purdue UniversitySearch for more papers by this author Robert C. Sahr, Robert C. Sahr Purdue UniversitySearch for more papers by this author First published: September 1982 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-0072.1982.tb00231.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume11, Issue1September 1982Pages 8-24 RelatedInformation

Developing the News Habit in the Introductory American Government Course

Abstract Instructors in the introductory American government course should consider the daily/weekly news gathering habits of their students when planning the course. Like the adult population as a whole, many college students are not well informed about current political events and participants. It is possible to restructure the course to emphasize the value of developing a daily “news habit,” while continuing to survey traditional American government course materials. Student surveys reveal significant increases in daily/weekly “news habits” as a result of new techniques introduced in the course, with the largest improvement occurring in daily newspaper reading.

A Method to Evaluate Teaching Effectiveness in an Introductory American Government Course

A Method to Evaluate Teaching Effectiveness in an Introductory American Government Course

Analysis Using Primary Sources for Term Papers in the Introductory Course

Many of the problems facing higher education are not capable of correction within the classroom setting. Yet, a great deal can be accomplished by an individual instructor in order to combat the often-spoken student criticism that classroom experiences are fundamentally deficient and unsatisfactory. This article offers political scientists a reasonably simple method of increasing student interest and participation in the Introductory American Government course. It concerns the design of a term paper which attempts to gain the active involvement of students through the use of primary source material.The teacher of an introductory American Government course today is probably very encouraged by enormous student interest in the workings of the political system. At the same time, it is not improbable that he is discouraged by the generally low level of substantive knowledge of current events and historical facts. In addition, he is disturbed to find that students do not read books and rarely read newspapers, that they rely upon television and rumor to support their substantive beliefs. The instructor is, additionally, torn between the pull of current issues as a source of classroom learning, and the commitment to the subject matter and methodology of the discipline, as the focus of classroom attention.In addition, those who assign term papers to their classes must fight the widespread and probably accurate student presumption that most term papers are added drudgery complementing the deadening succession of textbook assignments and blue-book examinations; that they are time-consuming, dull and irrelevant. Furthermore, students complain, again in justice, that their work is not usually read by the professor teaching them, or if read, is considered in a cursory fashion, so that hours of student effort result in simply a grade and possibly a one sentence comment along with, of course, the correction of a few grammatical and spelling errors.

Analysis Using Primary Sources for Term Papers in the Introductory Course

Many of the problems facing higher education are not capable of correction within the classroom setting. Yet, a great deal can be accomplished by an individual instructor in order to combat the often-spoken student criticism that classroom experiences are fundamentally deficient and unsatisfactory. This article offers political scientists a reasonably simple method of increasing student interest and participation in the Introductory American Government course. It concerns the design of a term paper which attempts to gain the active involvement of students through the use of primary source material.The teacher of an introductory American Government course today is probably very encouraged by enormous student interest in the workings of the political system. At the same time, it is not improbable that he is discouraged by the generally low level of substantive knowledge of current events and historical facts. In addition, he is disturbed to find that students do not read books and rarely read newspapers, that they rely upon television and rumor to support their substantive beliefs. The instructor is, additionally, torn between the pull of current issues as a source of classroom learning, and the commitment to the subject matter and methodology of the discipline, as the focus of classroom attention.In addition, those who assign term papers to their classes must fight the widespread and probably accurate student presumption that most term papers are added drudgery complementing the deadening succession of textbook assignments and blue-book examinations; that they are time-consuming, dull and irrelevant. Furthermore, students complain, again in justice, that their work is not usually read by the professor teaching them, or if read, is considered in a cursory fashion, so that hours of student effort result in simply a grade and possibly a one sentence comment along with, of course, the correction of a few grammatical and spelling errors.

Analysis Using Primary Sources for Term Papers in the Introductory Course

Many of the problems facing higher education are not capable of correction within the classroom setting. Yet, a great deal can be accomplished by an individual instructor in order to combat the often-spoken student criticism that classroom experiences are fundamentally deficient and unsatisfactory. This article offers political scientists a reasonably simple method of increasing student interest and participation in the Introductory American Government course. It concerns the design of a term paper which attempts to gain the active involvement of students through the use of primary source material.The teacher of an introductory American Government course today is probably very encouraged by enormous student interest in the workings of the political system. At the same time, it is not improbable that he is discouraged by the generally low level of substantive knowledge of current events and historical facts. In addition, he is disturbed to find that students do not read books and rarely read newspapers, that they rely upon television and rumor to support their substantive beliefs. The instructor is, additionally, torn between the pull of current issues as a source of classroom learning, and the commitment to the subject matter and methodology of the discipline, as the focus of classroom attention.In addition, those who assign term papers to their classes must fight the widespread and probably accurate student presumption that most term papers are added drudgery complementing the deadening succession of textbook assignments and blue-book examinations; that they are time-consuming, dull and irrelevant. Furthermore, students complain, again in justice, that their work is not usually read by the professor teaching them, or if read, is considered in a cursory fashion, so that hours of student effort result in simply a grade and possibly a one sentence comment along with, of course, the correction of a few grammatical and spelling errors.