This study explores the effectiveness of video demonstrations compared to live classroom visits for promoting writing center services to students in first-year writing courses. Using a randomized cluster experimental design, the researchers implemented either an in-person demonstration, a video demonstration, or no intervention (control). Pre- and…

The purpose of this research is to explore the perceptions of English Foreign Language University students towards online freshman composition courses at the university. The study aims to explore students' perspectives on the course and evaluate the reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity of the construct among Omani EFL…

Having a higher level of digital literacy can contribute to students' better outcomes in first-year composition. However, some underprepared and financially disenfranchised students may not have digital literacy skills nor own a portable computing device, such as a tablet, to engage their coursework. This three-year, mixed methods study of 292…

The C4 Scholar program (Cross-Curricular Career Community) is a multi-semester, interdisciplinary learning community program at a comprehensive Midwestern university for underprepared students entering with three developmental placements in English composition, mathematics, and reading. The program, which includes course acceleration and…

Mindful breathing has been linked to changes in physiology, but we took the practice further by examining whether a mindfulness breathing intervention, a three-minute breathing exercise marked by focused attention on the sensations of breath, affected writing anxiety, and writing performance measures. In addition, we examined mindful breathing as…

Many students graduate from high school under-prepared for college-level coursework, leading to a large number of students entering college who require remediation in English and mathematics. This study looked at the effectiveness of using EdReady--now offered through ACT as CollegeReady™--as a system for delivering remediation prior to college to…

Although an increasing number of first-generation students are beginning tertiary education, many are not completing their degrees. In an attempt to improve retention and graduation rates, learning communities responsive to the unique needs of first-generation students are becoming more common. This paper explores the implementation of ePortfolios…

This article examines a mentoring initiative that embedded advanced students in first-year composition courses to mentor students to excel to the best of their abilities. Mentors attended all classes along with students and conducted many out-of-class individual conferences, documenting each of them using programimplemented work logs. Four hundred…

This study investigated the impact of an Internet based program designed to improve basic writing skills on grammar and punctuation scores on an English Competency Test. Three groups in a small Midwestern university's freshmen composition class were tested: a control group (Test Group 1), which did not use the program; and two treatment groups:…

The main objective of this action research is to explore the effectiveness of blogs to promote frequent extra reading practice in a freshman EFL science and technology reading program at a public university. Sociocultural theory and the revival of Vygostky's constructivism have made us rethink how to approach the learning-teaching process in the…

A study designed a model for evaluating college writing programs by means of an analysis of the most important component, students. The study was conducted at the University of South Carolina Coastal Carolina College and involved first-year students. Subjects, six students who scored one (on a scale from one to four) on the holistically scored…

A study was conducted in the Rancho Santiago Community College District to track the academic performance of 238 English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Asian students and 301 ESL Hispanic students for three semesters (fall 1987 through spring 1988). The students had entered English 101 classes by way of ESL 110, the highest level composition class for…

Research has found evidence for the validity of remedial and developmental English courses in preparing students to pass freshman-level English courses. To determine whether similar validity could be demonstrated for remedial and developmental English courses at Tennessee's Walters State Community College, the percentage of former remedial and…

A study was conducted at Florida's Brevard Community College (BCC) to determine the effectiveness of using artificial intelligence software to teach Freshman Composition. At BCC, Freshman Composition is taught in the computer lab, with student using WordPerfect to type their essays and Writer's Helper to flag various writing deficiencies. The…