While many of these intelligences can be incorporated into the higher education classroom, intrapersonal intelligence poses some intriguing opportunities in the developmental writing classroom. As an instructor of developmental writing, the author stumbled upon the value of students developing their self-knowledge as an aid in learning to write…

When scholars write about their research in writing programs' archives, they often face the ethical question of whether to name the administrators who were involved in documents. The author identifies and provides examples of three basic orientations to this issue, which he calls overt-historical, covert-qualitative, and hybrid-institutional.…

Describes a statement of guidelines and goals developed for Boise State University's (BSU) basic writing course. Includes an account of local conditions at BSU, a copy of the statement itself with commentary on its seven competencies, a description of how the document was developed through a collaborative process, and the effects of that…

Presents a developmental perspective on text construction, understood as managing information within and across sentence boundaries. Claims that the systematicity in non-standard constructions in basic writer's texts reflects student awareness of three obligatory areas of information management in texts: topic management, reference tracking, and…

Recounts the process of writing guiding curricular documents for the University of Minnesota - General College's basic writing program. Describes how this was a community-building process that involved a wide group of instructors and others connected to the program. Includes the opening statement, as well as the goals and principles of the…

Gives two anecdotes by practicing teachers of their experiences with basic writers. Provides thick descriptions of two different basic writing students' attempts to write stories. Gives insight into the writing processes of basic writers. (HB)

Describes the relationship between reading and writing, particularly in the way that extensive reading can help writers improve their writing. Discusses four strategies a writing teacher used to revise a basic writing course. Shows how the strategies derive from current research. Describes briefly how the strategies are employed in designing and…

Describes an approach to teaching standard English to basic students that puts them at ease. Discusses "linguistic drift," the changes that take place in language over time. Describes a daily one-minute-drill listening exercise in standard English that is effective and leaves most of classtime to explore rich verbal experiences. (PRA)

Describes the process and positive results of restructuring a basic English classroom which contained foreign students, special education students, and students with disciplinary problems. Shows how journal writing and writing workshops helped these students. (PRA)

This paper discuses a "basic" writing pilot program using portfolio-based instruction in two-year college English courses at the St. Louis Community College at Forest Park (Missouri). The first section of the paper offers a comprehensive overview of the benefits of portfolio-based instruction to students, teachers, and the…

Describes a writing project developed in Alaska, called the Chukchi News and Information System, in which basic writing students (primarily Eskimos, Indians, and Aleuts) are given an outlet to publish their work in various periodicals across Alaska. Argues that such outlets provide students with valuable real world writing experiences. (HB)

A compositionist teaching high school on an Athabascan Indian Reservation near Anchorage, Alaska, encountered considerable resistance from his students when attempting to see them through a college-prep program. Their initial hostility toward him masked their deep need for an adult role model who was not abusive, neglectful, or alcoholic. It was a…

Discusses how and why a pedagogy of overt comparison between students' home language (vernacular dialects of English) and school language (standard English) helps students learn the more global features of academic writing and the more sentenced-level features of Standard English. Outlines a pedagogy of overt comparison. Notes it motivates…

With each issue focusing on different themes, volume 16 of "Inside English" looks at writing programs and critical thinking, developmental writing and the plight of part-time faculty, teaching literature and study abroad programs, and English as a Second Language (ESL) and English programs. In addition to regular columns on the English Council of…