INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / JANUARY 23, 1990 should reasoning or general critical thinking skills be emphasized? Can topics be used to move students into higher cognitive levels of application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation? Most beginning students are at a devel- opmental level which emphasizes the accumulation of information and equates that with learning. At the same time, most faculty are more interested in de- veloping thinking and questioning learners. Can or should beginning courses break the cycle of fact accumu- lation and encourage students to think independently, even to the point of teaching those skills at the expense of content? Content is often thought of only in terms of facts, principles, theories, and other intellectual matters. What atti- tudes, values, feelings, or ethical con- siderations do students need to de velop? Recent attention to ethical issues in all fields suggest that these be ad- dressed in introductory courses as well. On a more practical note, instruc- tors of beginning courses need to consider what content background, study skills, or physical skills might be needed to benefit from the course. Many problems of the beginning student stem from assumptions which instructors make about what students already know orcan do. The beginning course instruc- tor should be sure that such assump- tions are warranted before choosing what to teach. A Sense of Academic Community Regardless of the answers to the above questions, introductory courses have the important common responsi- bility of giving students a “sense of the academic community.” Since introduc- tory courses often represent a student's first experience with academe, it is an important time to establish attitudes about the institution, the academic envi- ronment, and learning itself. It is a time to consider why an “education” is dif- ferent from “job certification.” Thus the instructor of the beginning-level course needs to look beyond the imme- diate concerns of the discipline to the long range goals of creating scholars and self-educators. Professors in these classes are key to providing examples or models of the academic life. Students at this point are not only looking for ways of behaving in the university community, but they are also open to establishing expectations for themselves. What it means to be an educated person and how this course contributes to that end can be addressed at this impressionable time. 8 Beginning courses can also commu- nicate modes of operating as a good student, both in this field and in general. How does one study this kind of sub- ject matter? How can time be managed to assure adequate study? Howcan one set priorities among the variety of demands in life? How can one inte- grate this course’s subject matter with other opportunities to learn on cam- pus? By demonstrating the methods of the discipline and making its assump- tions explicit, by modeling attitudes toward the subject matter and learning, and by personalizing approaches to teaching and learning, college teachers can socialize beginners into theacademic community to the end that, even if they don’t pursue advanced study, they will retain effective habits of learning and a positive attitude toward academe. Conclusion Many times introductory courses are assigned to less-experienced teach- ers. While it is true that the level of subject matter expertise demands breadth instead of depth, thecomplexity of decisions about teaching strategies makes this a very difficult assignment. Faculty members who are assigned the task of planning and implementing in- struction for beginning students in in- troductory-level courses need incentive, recognition, support, and resources to teach these students in the best way possible. It is not a task for the faint- hearted. Detivee L. WRIGHT UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN REFERENCES Involvement in Learning: Realizing the Potential of American Higher Educa- tion. Final Report of the Study Group on the Conditions of Excellence in American Higher Education. Na- tional Institute of Education, 1984. Katz, J. A New Vitality in General Educa- tion: Task Group on General Education. Association of American Colleges, 1988. Katz,J.and Henry, M. Turning Professors Into Teachers. American Council on Education. New York: Macmillan, 1988. Lewis, K. G. Taming The Pedagogical Monster: A Handbook For Large Class Instructors. The Center for Teaching Effectiveness, University of Texas at Austin, 1982. W. J. Teaching Tips: A Guidebook For The Beginning College Teacher. 8th Ed. Lexington, Mass.: Heath, 1986. Missions of the College Curriculum: A Con- temporary Review With Suggestions. Carnegie Foundation for the Ad- vancement of Teaching. San Fran- cisco: Jossey-Bass, 1977. Perry, W. “Cognitive and Ethical Growth: The Making of Meaning.” In the Modern American College. Ed., A. W. Chickering and Associates, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1981. Spear, K. I, Ed. Rejuvenating Introduc- tory Courses. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 20. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1984. Weimer, M.G., Ed. Teaching Large Classes Well. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 32. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1987. For further information contact the au- thor at University of Nebraska, Teach- ing and Learning Center, 121 Benton Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588. A PusticaTion OF THE PROFESSIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Network IN HicHser EpucaTion Editor: Loren Ekroth, Center for Teaching Ex- cellence, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1733 Donaghho Road, Kuykendall Hall 108, Honolulu, HI 96822 Associate Editors: Sandra Tomlinson, Galveston College, 4015 Avenue Q, Galveston, TX 77550 Marilla Svinicki, Center for Teaching Excellence, University of Texas- Austin, Main Bldg. 2200, Austin, TX 78712-1111 SusscripTions: Institutional, $100 annually (unlimited reproduction rights); Individual, $10annually. Teach- ing Excellence is published eight times annually. To order, send check or P.O. to Teaching Excellence, c/o Loren Ekroth, Center for Teaching Excellence, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1733 Donaghho Road, Kuykendall Hall 108, Honolulu, HI 96822, or call (808) 948- 6978 for further information. 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