Diane Relf was concerned by what felt like an unbridgeable gulf between Year 7's vocabulary and comprehension, and her aspirations both for their inclusion in history and their later academic success. As a subject leader without the benefit of any history-specific training at the start of her career, she embarked on a journey of intensive reading…

This commentary seeks to encourage reflection upon learning and teaching through story. The authors illustrate ways they have used story in their teaching and what they perceive as the benefits of doing so. They explore how they learned through narrative as children and why they came to value it as a way of seeing and thinking. Then they consider…

Writing creative nonfiction means perceiving what details are worth telling, why they might matter, and how they might connect. Although no one much likes the term "creative nonfiction" (some are bothered by defining something by what it's not, others by a conviction that the idea is oxymoronic), it has emerged as the name of choice. In the past…

Considers aspects of good masters and doctoral programs in creative writing and suggests ways in which to integrate creative writing with literature programs. (CRH)

Thomas Sayers Ellis, assistant professor of creative writing at New York's Sarah Lawrence College, is one of many scholars fighting for the soul of Black poetry, a struggle that takes place largely off-campus. Unless one is accepted into a top-level graduate poetry program, such as Boston University's program or the Iowa Writing Workshop, a poet's…

Noting that Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programs in writing are relatively new as compared to similar programs in dance, music, and painting, and that little is known about the writing progams by those not directly involved, a study sought to determine if (1) the MFA program in writing is a fairly standard entity from program to program, and (2) if…

This article outlines one potential model for a graduate-level course in community literacy studies. Ellen Cushman and Jeffery Grabill taught this course for the first time at Michigan State University in the spring of 2007. In this article our colleagues with varying disciplinary backgrounds reflect on the course, its readings, and their…

A survey of the status and use of the English language in Algeria is presented. The following topics are outlined: (1) the role of English as a third language, (2) its place within the educational system at all levels and in each graduate institution, (3) the status of British expatriates teaching English in Algeria and of Algerian teachers of…