Learning Resources

Abstract: Book review: The Learning Industry: Education fro Adult Workers, by Nell Eurich. Princeton University Press, 1990. 298 pages.

Abstract: Book Review: Managing the facilities Portfolio: A Practical Approach to Institutional Facility Renewal and Deferred Maintenance, by Sean Rush. NACUBO, 1991. 100 pages.

Abstract: Viewpoint Subtitles: The end of a love affair; The new mood about higher education. Pull quotes: "America's leading universities can no longer be trusted." "An urgent task is the rebuilding of academic morale." "Administrators have often allowed their budgets to race in wild directions."

Abstract: Historically, college and university classrooms have consisted of little more than a blackboard and antiquated seats. Many classrooms were constructed over 30-70 years ago with minor alterations. Over the next decade, modernizing of lecture, seminar, and classrooms is essential. They will then be more conducive to learning. A seven step strategy to modernize institutional classrooms exists. 1) Conduct a physical survey and inventory of all the teaching spaces. This includes room dimensions, furniture, room arangement, lighting, ventilation, and audiovisual equipment. 2) Conduct a utilization study. This measures whether classrooms are used to their full capacities. 3) Interview faculty and students to determine preferences. Professors and students now prefer to be closer to each other to promote exchanges. 4) Develop criteria for design including A. Physical Considerations; B. Environmental Factors; C. Furniture; and D. Audiovisual Equipment. Additionally, each category of design criteria should follow the four design requirements of function, focus, flexibility, and aesthetics. 5) Calculate estimates of renovation costs for each room. Planners must have specific architectural plans and rough estimates before renovation begins. 6) Start a program of renovation. A financially feasible renovation schedule should be followed--the rooms in the worst shape are scheduled first, with construction on two to five rooms a year over 5-10 years. 7) Once the renovation schedule begins, monitor the direction of the university to determine changes in classroom needs. The design and renovation of institutional classrooms are necessary to attract highly qualified faculty and students. Classrooms exhibiting a warm, attractive, and modern atmosphere enhance the learning enviroment.

Abstract: Book review: Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate, by Ernest Boyer. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1991. 147 pages.

Abstract: What the past twenty years of research have revealed about how colleges affect students. Subtitles: Implications for colleges; The importance of people; Arranging the environment; Improving the learning scene. Pull quotes: "Most surprising was that elite colleges and universities have scarcely any greater impact than other institutions." "Impact is partly a result of the way a student exploits the people, programs, facilities, and experiences of a college." "Any college can improve its outcomes, its 'quality'." "The first semester is a pivotal time." "Part-time jobs on campus have a net positive impact." "Institutions should avoid hugh residential towers." "A major shift in decision-making by administrators is needed."

Abstract: Book Review: Feminism Without Illusion, by Elizabeth Fox-Genovese. University of North Carolina Press, 1991. 326 pages. Educated in Romance: Women, Achievement, and College Culture, by Dorothy Holland and Margaret Eisenhart. University of Chicago Press, 1990. 252 pages.

Abstract: Book review: Strategic Analysis: Using Comparative Data to Understand You Institution, by Barbara Taylor, Joel Meyerson, Louis Morrell and Dabney Park, Jr. Association of Governing Boards, 1991. 217 pages.