User Contributed Dictionary
Pronunciation
Noun
courses- Plural of course.
Verb
courses- Third-person singular simple present of to course.
French
Verb
- Form of Second-person singular present subjunctive, courser
Extensive Definition
In U.S. education, a course is a unit
of teaching that typically lasts one academic
term, is led by one or more instructors (teachers or professors), has a fixed
roster of students, and
gives each student a grade
and academic credit.
The original meaning—a course of instruction, the
unit of instruction embodied by a course—is also used, so textbooks may be entitled,
e.g., A Course in Modern Physics.
Courses are made up of individual sessions,
typically on a fixed weekly schedule.
There are different formats of course in
universities:
- the lecture course, where the instructor gives lectures with minimal interaction;
- the seminar, where students prepare and present their original written work for discussion and critique;
- the colloquium or reading course, where the instructor assigns readings for each session which are then discussed by the members;
- the tutorial course, where one or a small number of students work on a topic and meet with the instructor weekly for discussion and guidance.
- the laboratory course, where most work takes place in a laboratory.
Many courses combine these formats. Lecture
courses often include weekly discussion
sections with smaller groups of students led by the principal
instructor, another instructor, or teaching
assistant. Laboratory courses often combine lectures,
discussion sections, and laboratory sessions.
Students are expected to do various kinds of work
for a course:
- Attending course sessions.
- Reading and studying course readings assigned in the course syllabus.
- Discussing material they have read.
- Writing short and long papers based on assigned reading and their own library research.
- Completing homework or problem sets.
- Completing laboratory exercises.
- Taking quizzes and examinations.
The exact work required depends on the
discipline, the course, and the particular instructor. Unlike most
European university courses, grades are generally determined by all
of these kinds of work, not only the final examination.
courses in Esperanto: Kurso
courses in Hebrew: קורס
courses in Dutch: Cursus
courses in Norwegian: Kurs