Incorporating writing into an economics course is a beneficial goal of economic educators. The potential benefits of using writing to enhance learning among economics students have been emphasized in the literature. Writing to Learn (WTL) is an act of using writing activities to help students think through key concepts presented in a course. The…

Essay exams offer many benefits for instructors who seek to vary their assessment methods and engage students in critical discourse, yet they also pose many challenges and require thoughtful construction and evaluation. The author provides an extensive overview of the literature to illuminate best practices for designing and assessing effective…

For adult learners in online courses, writing is the predominant means by which all interaction takes place. As those participating in online education rely heavily on engagement with content, peers, and instructors, special attention should be given to include various activities that promote written communication to foster a positive and engaging…

Introductory-level laboratory courses provide students with hands-on experience using the discipline's tools and theories. These courses often rely on recipe-based experiments due to the constraints of large enrollments, short lab periods, and the desire to minimize complexity. In addition, covering a breadth of topics can lead to a fragmented…

New scholarship advocates that students should learn deeply and well. Little information exists on exactly how to get students deeply into material so that they understand it inside and out, backward and forward and in a way that enables them to construct knowledge schemas. The authors have developed a heuristic list of communication response…

The following article maps the questions, methods, contexts, and theories presented in published scholarship on writing-related transfer. While not exhaustive, this review attempts to capture representative samples with a focus on recent publications. The article then highlights a multi-institutional research initiative that aims to flesh out the…

Because of the rapidly changing nature of chemical instrumentation, students must be trained in how to learn and understand new instruments. Toward this end, students are asked to create small instrument manuals, or instrument profiles, for the major pieces of equipment studied during an instrumental analysis course. This writing-intensive process…

This article describes the goals and methods of the international Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) movement in higher education, and WAC-enriched learning approaches that the author used in teaching a social work gerontology practice course and a sociological theories of aging course. The author's in-class, low-stakes, nongraded writing…

For educators striving to create an egalitarian classroom based on open, reflexive, and honest dialogue, silence can be the ultimate obstacle. Not only does silence stifle individual expression; more importantly, silence also prevents the collective production of knowledge, understanding, compassion, and empathy. When learners and teachers feel…

Members of a site of the California Writing Project conducted the study in this article in partnership with a large, urban, low-SES school district where 93% of the students speak English as a second language and 69% are designated Limited English Proficient. Over an eight-year period, a relatively stable group of 55 secondary teachers engaged in…

The effectiveness of writing to learn programs and teaching practices on the students are discussed. It is found that writing to learn practices have an impact on achievement, perhaps more than conventional measures of achievement are able to determine.

The environment is a ready-made subject in writing classrooms, and teachers at all levels are encouraging students to write about nature and environmental issues. Environmental issues provide a equitable meeting place for students from a variety of different backgrounds, interests, and ideologies. There are also many pedagogical advantages to…

The essays in this collection originated at a symposium on the teaching of political geography focused on the implementation of Standard 13 (National Geography Standards), "How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of earth's surface." The 16 chapters (or essays) in the collection are: (1)…

Describes two studies carried out at the Open University (United Kingdom) that investigated students' perceptions of, and reactions to, a tutor's comments on written assignments based on the Kelly Construct Repertory Grid technique. Outlines two theoretical perspectives: schema theory within cognitive psychology, and social constructivist theory…

This article recounts the author's experiences with students in a Writing Center, and examines the troubles of traditional teaching styles that reflect the notion of a single norm of thought and experience. Asserts that prescriptive writing instruction stymies personal and scholastic development and undermines democratic learning. Contains 12…