Concerns about adolescent literacy continue to be highlighted in regards to the challenges of reading and learning from academic text. Recent efforts to address these concerns have led to an examination of the disciplines and their specialized ways of thinking and using language. In this article I discusses a metalinguistic protocol in a…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the impact of differentiated instructional techniques on non-traditional, adult student engagement in an RN-BSN completion program course. Differentiated instructional techniques have been a staple method of teaching in K-12 education for a number of years. Differentiated instruction (DI) is a…

The purpose of this report is to encourage the reader to explore wikis for use in classroom instruction and assignments. The information in this report was gleaned from interviews with various members of higher education as well as recent research by educators. The main problems found in the research with new technologies like wikis in classrooms…

Describes how a college professor incorporates "commonplace books" into his courses, with reading and writing the focal practices in curriculum studies classrooms. He defines commonplace books as collecting places for various writings related to the courses. The books represent fragments of a variety of experiences in a variety of…

Assists students in recognizing rhetorical situations and in participating actively by instituting semester-long anonymous correspondences between unacquainted students in separate sections of freshman composition. Notes that students achieved greater sensitivity to rhetorical situations and an awakening of resistance. (MG)

Demonstrates how grading students journal can be made easier by making the journals goal-oriented, such as using them as the basis for exams. Suggests that journal assignments can involve more complex learning tasks such as analyzing, interpreting, and applying course materials in specific ways. (PA)

Describes a three-part assignment in which each student writes a complaint letter and an adjustment letter responding to another student's complaint letter. Discusses how the third part of the assignment--journal entries--allows students to formulate their own criteria for excellent letters based upon their reactions to the letters they receive.…

The second semester of Freshman Composition at Troy State University focuses on writing about literature and writing a traditional research paper not necessarily based on literary research. One spring, the required reading was Shirley Ann Grau's novel, "The Keeper of the House." This novel, set in an unidentified Southern state, traces the history…

Reviews the benefits of library work (and some cautions) before describing four assignments that exploit library resources: a business report assignment; a professional journal assignment; a style manual format assignment; and an international business communication assignment. (SG)

Reports a successful application of writing across the curriculum theory and practice at the introductory accounting level. Discusses the advantages of informal and formal writing assignments. Presents a number of suggestions designed to facilitate the use of writing across the curriculum techniques and to help ensure their successful application.…

Presents two journal exercises teachers can use to help their students develop and apply their cognitive skills. Asserts that the exercises help students to integrate what many consider to be dichotomous and frequently contradictory activities--feeling and thinking. Cites G. Lakoff and M. Johnson's "Metaphors We Live By" for the theoretical…

Describes how a weekly focused journal writing assessment (in which students note any use of language they find interesting, puzzling, amusing, or annoying as well as their response to it) enhances composition students' awareness of how language is used and where. Offers several different advantages of such journal writing. (SR)

Within the education environment, writing journals are being used across the curriculum and for a variety of purposes--they are often recognized as a means for prompting students to apply the perspective of a particular discipline to their own lives or to facilitate their gaining perspective on personal transitions. Successful use of journals in…

Combining the journal writing process with the concepts of collaboration can produce more focused writing and learning. Through the channel of collaborative situations, such as group journal writing, teachers can capitalize on the benefits achieved from the collaborative process and cultivate thinking and writing skills. A group journal writing…

After students' interest in literature has been stirred by journal writing, it is time for them to turn their private journal writing into writing for an audience. Instead of having students write the usual responses to literature, vary their assignments by offering them creative responses, either occasionally or as an individual alternative to…