In this article, the authors describe how integrating music with reading and writing practices stimulated transmediation to (1) honor musical students' identities, (2) deepen readers' meaning making with literature, and (3) invite writers' memories to generate emotional grist for composing poetry. The authors share examples to inspire teachers to…

Referencing Freire, Ladson-Billings's approach to "culturally relevant pedagogies," and Moje et al.'s "third space," this memoir details an American English educator's transformation from inexperienced instructor to lifelong student.

Nudged by scholars to make their practice public and to "put [themselves] out there" by participating in professional conversations online, many English teachers are turning to the Web to enhance their professional development. This article draws from a qualitative study investigating five English teachers' experiences participating…

Novice teachers often find themselves isolated; they are often assigned students with the most difficult challenges, with no mentor, and without professional learning to further develop the skills they began to acquire as student teachers. It is important to disrupt the institutionalized isolation of the novice teacher (Darling-Hammond and Sclan;…

A staff developer shares his perspectives on English teachers and gives few advices based on the observations of them in practice.

By awakening her creative life, Melissa McClain was able to help students do the same. Based on the experience of bringing her singing and guitar playing into the classroom, she concludes that "the most effective form of professional development begins with the self."

It has been almost 30 years since the last systematic look at writing instruction in middle schools and high schools in the United States (Applebee, Writing). Since that report, there have been a number of significant changes in the contexts in which teachers teach and in which their students learn to write. Stretching back to the 1969-70 school…

Explains the rationale for and offers suggestions on implementing content area writing. (MM)

Collaboration for some English teachers has proved to be the key to effective professional development. Teachers working together on evaluating the effectiveness of a writing workshop in the high school classroom have helped them gain knowledge about their beliefs and practices.