Showing papers on "Student engagement published in 1974"

Student Politics in America: A Historical Analysis

Abstract: Students have periodically played an important role in campus political life as well as in societal politics. Students were active in the anti-slavery movement; they rebelled against military service in the Civil War; they staged demonstrations during the Depression; and they were vocal during the 1960s. While activism has subsided somewhat in the past three decades, students continue to be involved in significant political issues. Student Politics in America is the first book to chronicle the entire history of student political activism in America--dealing not only with the periods when students were dramatically involved in politics, but also focusing on less active periods. This book provides a sense of the entire history of political involvement and the evolution of student organizations and attitudes toward politics. Student religious organizations that have been involved in social activism are discussed, as are student government organizations, which are generally ignored in analyses of campus life. Altbach shows that, at least since the 1930s, there is an ideological trend toward liberal and radical activism, yet at the same time conservative student organizations have also been influential. Politics on the campus is a multifaceted phenomenon, and Altbach handles the complexity of student political life in a carefully nuanced manner. In a new preface, the author discusses his reasons and motivation for originally writing Student Politics in America. In his new introduction, he brings the history of student activism, and the lack thereof, up to date. Student Politics in America provides a unique historical perspective on the political activities of college and university students in the United States and will be an important contribution to the personal libraries of educators, university administrators, students, political scientists, and historians.

The Lecture VS. the Game

Abstract: "Learning is obviously enhanced when the student can relate new concepts and words to his present inventory of knowledge and experience. The lecture presents many new concepts and words and normally attempts to relate them to previous discussions. Experience tells us, however, that despite our attempts to provide a well-rounded coverage of the course material in the traditional lecture or lecture discussion class setting, much of the information we present is never received by the student, or if it is received, the information is stored in temporary memory rather than in permanent memory. We are all familiar with the purging process that takes place in temporary memory following the examination. Thus our challenge as educators is twofold: (1) to increase the amount of information placed in student memory and (2) to increase the proportion of this information placed in permanent memory relative to temporary memory. My prescription for meeting this challenge is to get the student actively engaged in the learning process. I have been searching for ways to increase student activism in the learning process for several years. The ideal situation would appear to be to set up each student with a business of his own to run. The student would incorporate the principles learned in the classroom into the business setting. This guided, real life experience would force the student to discover relationships and techniques first hand which are alluded to in the classroom. Unfortunately, we do not enjoy the luxury of unlimited funding at RIT and thus cannot subsidize student run business. However, I am here to report upon what I believe to be a viable alternative which employs a computerized game as a substitute for the actual business enterprise. Of course, the use of the game is not new. However, I believe the way in which it is used is new, and rather exciting."

Children's judgements of the teaching performance of student teachers

Abstract: The study reported here is an attempt to isolate one limited aspect of the complex area of the pupils’ view of school. This aspect is the perception of the teaching techniques of teachers in training. There are practical implications here for teacher training since these perceptions are potential feedback for student teachers. The study is an attempt to establish the degree of reliability and validity of pupils’ perceptions and to develop a means of converting them into a readily available and relatively systematic form.

Teaching methods and student personality — The search for an elusive interaction

Abstract: Decades of research at the tertiary level have produced the finding that the use of different teaching methods makes no difference to student learning when end-of-course examination performance is accepted as the criterion of such learning. This conclusion has been based on a comparison between the average mark gained by groups of subjects taught in different ways. The present article takes the position that the use of such mean scores serves to conceal individual variability, and hypothesizes that it is possible to identify personality characteristics likely to predispose a student to perform better under one teaching approach rather than another. A programmatic series of studies using two approaches to personality measurement, purpose-concealed and face-valid, and two instructional approaches, lecturing and independent study, is described culminating in the conclusion that the student likely to perform better under the latter teaching method sees himself as being more tense and anxious than the student likely to perform better under the former method.

Learning outside the Classroom

Abstract: One myth of contemporary education is that most learning takes place in a classroom and depends upon the physical presence of a teacher, printed textbooks, and "proper motivation." But it is possible to distinguish between learning environments-which are characterized by a profusion of interesting, novel, and useful objects designed to be manipulated, smelled, measured, and arranged-and the typical American classroom, which is intended as a teaching environment.

Student Evaluation of Staff in Secondary Schools

Abstract: How reliable are student evaluations of teachers? Is the student perspective on teaching unique, and should it be included in faculty evaluation? This article explores these questions and describes one school's experience with student evaluation.

American Imperialism and the Brazilian Student Movement.

Abstract: This article is a report on some of the issues which I observed in a study of Brazilian student politics in the period from 1966 to 1968. The focus is on attempts made by the United States Agency for International Developnient to restructure Brazilian higher education, and on tlie efforts of Brazilian students to resist American intervention in their educational system. The Brazilian student movement, which had reached a position of some influence prior t o 1964, was severely weakened by tlie United States supported-military coup d’ittat (see Bahia, 1954; Poerner, 1968). Prior to 1964, many of tlie student leaders were Marxists, but most adhered to the theory that Brazil had to go through a stage of capitalist development before having a socialist revolution. They consequently placed considerable confidence in tlie national bourgeoisie as a progressive force against imperialism. The coup d’Ctat was a severe blow to these hopes. The military leaders moved swiftly t o prevent any immediate

Self-Concept and the Middle School

Abstract: How one school system went about improving student self-concepts is the subject of this article. What the schools did has been successful and the future holds even more promise, writes the author.

Student services‐the future?

Abstract: Challenges for meeting student needs and solving unresolved issues in student preservice can be met in new and imaginative ways.

An Analysis of Academic Performance of Working and Non-Working Students on Academic Probation at Northern Illinois University.

Abstract: The relationship or effect, if any, of part-time employment to the academic performance of full-time, undergraduate students who are on academic pro­ bation at Northern Illinois University (NIU) is currently of considerable importance to the Committee on Student Employment and the Office of Student Financial Aids at that institution. The Committee on Student Employment is composed' of administrators, fac­ ulty, and students, and is directly responsible for establishing policy and regulations pertaining to on-campus employment for students. The Office of Student Financial Aids is responsible for implementation of policy and ad­ ministering the on-campus student employment program.