Minor (academic)

About: Minor (academic) is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2101 publications have been published within this topic receiving 18730 citations.

Scientists at major and minor universities: a study of productivity and recognition.

Abstract: Scientists at major schools are more likely to be productive and to win recognition than scientists at minor universities, which suggests that universities provide different environments for scientific research. Indices of productivity and recognition that differentiate between major and minor publications and major and minor honors were applied to the research careers of 150 scientists located at three universities of varying prestige. The best graduate schools select the best students, the best of whom are trained by top scientists and become the next generation's most productive scientists. Scientists trained and later hired by minor universities had difficulty developing continuity in their research activities and tended to be differently motivated than scientists trained and hired by major universities. In terms of his chances of obtaining recognition, a scientist gained more from affiliation with a major university than from high productivity or from his sponsor's prestige, probably because the major university provided better opportunities for contacts with eminent scientists in the same discipline.

Student-Student Interaction: The Neglected Variable In Education

Abstract: Like all social systems, the school (and the classroom) is made up of a network of interpersonal relationships structured to facilitate the achievement of educational goals (Johnson, 1970, 1979). Broadly, the educational goals consist of transferring knowledge and skills; socializing children and adolescents into the perspectives, values, and attitudes they need to function effectively within our society; and facilitating the cognitive, social, and physical development of each individual student. While there are a variety of relationships within the school structured to achieve these goals, the primary educational relationships are between teachers and students and among students themselves. Educational psychology has traditionally focused on teacher-student interaction. It has been assumed by some that students' learning, socialization, and development are primarily dependent on their interaction with teachers; that peer relationships have little impact on the student and, therefore, could be ignored; and that the infrequent and minor peer influences that do exist in. the classroom are an unhealthy and bothersome influence, discouraging academic achievement and encouraging off-task, disruptive behavior in the classroom. The adult centrism in our

Guidelines for undergraduate degree programs on Model curriculum and guidelines for undergraduate degree programs in information systems

Abstract: The IS'97 report is the latest output from model curriculum work for information systems that began in the early 1970s and has matured over a twenty year period. This report represents the combined effort of numerous individuals and reflects the interests of thousands of faculty. It is grounded in the expected requirements of industry and represents the views of organizations employing the graduates. This model curriculum is the first collaborative curriculum effort of the ACM, AIS and AITP (formerly DPMA) societies and is supported by other interested organizations. The draft was reviewed at eleven national and international meetings involving over 1,000 individuals from industry and academia. All aspects of the computing field have had rapid, continuous change. As a result, university-level Information Systems (IS) curricula need frequent updating to remain effective. Since most academic units have mechanisms to maintain currency of curricula, why have professional society curriculum committees? If an IS academic unit were providing graduates solely to local business and government, the input on program contents could be derived from representatives of local organizations that hire the graduates. However, local employment is not the sole objective for undergraduate majors in Information Systems. Students from IS programs accept jobs in widely dispersed geographic areas. Therefore, availability of curriculum models enables local academic units to maintain academic programs that are consistent both with employment needs across the country and with the common body of knowledge of the IS field. The first IS curriculum models were introduced in the early 1970s. This early work was followed by model curricula developed by ACM and DPMA. Details of this history are reviewed in Appendix 2. Professional society curriculum reports serve several other objectives. One important use is to provide a local academic unit with rationale to obtain proper resources to support its program. Often, administration at the local institution is not aware of the resources, course offerings, computing hardware, software, and laboratory resources needed for a viable program. Administration may be unaware of the specialized classroom technology, library resources, or laboratory assistants essential for proper education of IS undergraduates. Finally, administration might not recognize the rapid turnover of knowledge in the field and the need for resources to support constant retooling of faculty. Curriculum reports provide recommendations in these resource areas as well as content for the necessary body of knowledge. They provide important information for local IS academic units to use in securing from their institution the necessary levels of support. The importance of the curriculum effort is based on continuing strong demand for graduates. A strong demand for IS professionals is forecast by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to continue through the year 2005 (Occupational Outlook Quarterly 1993). For example, the forecast increase in demand for system analysts is 110 percent for the period 1992-2005, averaging over 8 percent annually. Of all occupations analyzed, the systems analyst position is projected to have one of the highest demands. The IS field also remains attractive in regard to compensation. In 1993, raises in IS were second highest of all professions, only slightly below engineering (Sullivan-Trainor 1994). These growth and pay level factors indicate undergraduate degrees in IS will continue to be in strong demand over the next decade. In a time of restricted academic budgets, some IS academic departments have been under downsizing pressure from other academic disciplines in their own institutions, citing a decline in employment in central IS organizations. However, there is no lessening in demand for IS knowledge and ability in organizations; to the contrary, the demand is expanding as the functional areas of the organization gain more capability in IS. Many areas of the organization are now hiring IS majors for departmental computing activities. There is also strong demand for the IS minor by students in other disciplines who need IS expertise in order to be effective in their work and to assist in developing applications in their functional area. A third reason that the demand for IS courses will continue to increase is that students in related disciplines want to acquire basic and intermediate IS skills. Every discipline is experiencing growth in computer use, and students who enrich their IS knowledge are at a career advantage.

The Authority of Experience in Learning to Teach: Messages from a Physics Methods Class:

Abstract: This paper develops the idea of "the authority of experience" to explain the unease about teacher education represented in comments of 19 graduate students enrolled in a preservice physics education methods course which combined on-campus classes and teaching placements. Interviews with the student teachers after the first half of the year-long course are organized under four themes: expectations about learning to teach, observation skills, the credibility of a professor who teaches every day, and overall perspectives on teacher education. The study found that teacher education is a transition from being under authority to being in authority, and this is an uneasy transition: some students wished to be told what to do when they assume authority, and some did not; some students saw no point to classes that did not speak directly to what to do as teachers, and others found such discussions appealing; some found the professor to be authoritative because he was also teaching secondary school physics, while others found his colleagues no less credible for other reasons. The paper recommends that the authority of experience be brought to the surface so that it is not ignored by students. This can be accomplished through metaphor, life histories, narrative, and journals. (Contains 18 references.) (JDD) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** THE AUTHORITY OF EXPERIENCE IN LEARNING TO TEACH: MESSAGES FROM A PHYSICS METHODS CLASS' U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Once or Educational Research and linorovemen1 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC, 0 This documenl has teen reoroduce<, as recotved from Me person or organisation originating et 0 Minor changes neve bean made ro improve reprOduCtiOn Quality POints Of view Or OcsnionS Slated in MIS dccumerit do r.ol necessarily represenl official OERI position or policy Hugh Munby and Tom Russell Faculty of Education Queen's University Kingston, Ontario Canada K7L 3N6 Introduction "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATE IAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY