This field note explores the use of art and creativity in social work field education as an innovative pedagogical method. We highlight the value of incorporating the arts in field instruction courses, such as field seminar, to illuminate both students' and clients' experiences, explore professionalism, and navigate social work practice tensions.…

With institutions of many types embracing the rich possibilities offered by course-based learning communities, it is important for programs to consider how they might best prepare students for success in those courses. Key to this work is identifying the particular skills needed and creating opportunities to introduce students to those skills…

This paper documents the ongoing development of a framework for reflection for undergraduate learners new to the reflective process. Motivated by the gap between students' abilities and experience of reflection and the expectations of them at undergraduate level, the author experimented with a variety of approaches over a number of years. After…

This article, the first of a two-part series, presents teaching 10 innovations from the 2015 Association for Business Communication's 80th annual conference. The creative new assignments offered here include building listening skills by journaling, oral interpretation, positive message framing, storytelling, delivering bad news, persuasive…

This article provides an overview of the Writers Matter program, which allows adolescents to use their life stories as a vehicle for self-expression and writing skill development. Evaluations of the program have show increased writing skills among participating students in the areas of focus, content, organization, and grammar. Additional benefits…

In this article, the author explores the use of journaling in high school physical education classes. An assistant professor of health and physical education, the author seeks to assist high school instructors with preparing students for the demands of college, both physical and intellectual. The author gives specific instructions on how best to…

Documenting procedures very well is an important concern for technology educators and students alike. Good documentation--a thorough conveyance of thoughts and processes--is a skill that can set the students above others as they enter the competitive technological workforce. In this article, the author explores how writing and documenting could be…

Emotional intelligence (EI) is a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one's thinking and actions. EI theory provides another venue for business communication faculty in presenting the importance of how students can…

Describes the use of short stories to promote written and oral language skill development in college-level students in an English-as-a-Second-Language writing and oral fluency class. (GLR)

Use of instructor-mediated student journals in college courses helps students overcome fear of writing, enhances critical thinking, and raises the level of student discourse within the discipline. The approach differs from conventional journals in that the teacher provides active guidance, in class, concerning writing process and technique. (MSE)

Using a dialogue journal during a school year helped a 10th-grade student focus on skills that build responsibility and self-reliance. The Expanded Core Curriculum (Hatlen, 1996) addresses disability specific skills that include compensatory and social interaction skills. Providing instruction in organization, time management, and self-advocacy…

Recent writing theory, research, and pedagogy have aided in the development of several models for improving second language writing skills. Attention is focused more on writing as a process, the importance of practice in writing improvement, and the need to learn cognitive structures contributing to writing. Daily journal writing is one method of…

Describes an experience with Do-It-Yourself Placement (DIYP), a procedure to cope with problems arising from a combination of large classes and an emphasis on analytic grammar skills to the neglect of reading and writing skills relevant to the context of study. Obstacles to change in approaches to second-language teaching are discussed. (13…

Two teachers' experience with using reflective journals to help both teachers and students reflect on the teaching and learning processes is described. The technique was implemented in English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) classes in a Japanese university. Specific guidelines were established for students, and the journal format was a worksheet…

A fifth-grade teacher describes her investigation of direct teaching of collaborative skills, explaining how she taught explicit cooperative skills and documented her findings. The teacher describes patterns of higher-quality journal entries, improved collaborative skills, increased self-esteem, transfer of collaborative skills to new contexts,…