Literature on the learning benefits and interpersonal mechanisms of peer assessment (PA) and teacher assessment (TA) has been inconsistent. As part of a large-scale study, the research reported here has addressed the effect of formative PA on language grammar uptake and complexity, accuracy, and fluency triad scale levels, in comparison both to TA…

In this paper we report a case study of two first-year students at a university in Hong Kong doing the same writing assignment that required the use of sources. We explore the students' understanding of plagiarism, their strategies for composing, the similarity between their texts and source texts, and the lecturer's assessment of their work. The…

Purpose: This study examined the efficacy of a professional development program for early childhood educators that facilitated emergent literacy skills in preschoolers. The program, led by a speech-language pathologist, focused on teaching alphabet knowledge, print concepts, sound awareness, and decontextualized oral language within naturally…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how Korean fourth graders' performance on reading comprehension and written summarization changes as a function of instruction in summarization across test times. Seventy five Korean fourth graders from three classes were randomly assigned to the collaborative summarization, direct instruction, and…

Writing quality of 2 seventh grade classes in Jerusalem of 22 students each was compared in 2 audience conditions: (1) to the teacher for grades, and (2) to a distant peer audience to share ideas. Papers written to communicate with peers were rated more highly than those written for grades. (SLD)

A study at Hong Kong University explored the use of the word processor as a writing tool in enhancing a process approach to writing instruction and the effect it has on writing performance, student attitudes to writing and revising, and the process by which students revise their scripts. A comparative analysis was done on a control group of 13…

Focusing on the effects of three interventions on students' reading and writing of persuasive discourse, a study investigated (1) whether the writing of persuasive discourse can be improved by instruction, and (2) the effect of reading on writing and of writing on reading within the persuasive mode. Subjects, 100 Canadian sixth graders stratified…

An experimental study compared the effects of controlled and free writing exercises and of evaluative vs. communicative feedback on the writing quality and apprehension of Korean college students of English as a foreign language (EFL). Students in two sections of a freshman reading course wrote dialogue journals as practice in free writing, and…