While "transfer" has become, in recent years, a subject of great research interest to our field, we still have much to learn about how we can best use this research knowledge to inform local efforts in program development. In this profile, we describe the foundations of the Dartmouth Institute for Writing and Rhetoric and explain how…

Acquiring proficiency in the various English language skills and the ability to utilize those skills as a medium of learning is a daunting task. Research suggests that children who do not speak English as their first language (L1) need five to seven years in school before they can perform as well in English as their English peers who are native…

This paper describes the ways in which a number of individuals, including elementary school children, classroom teachers, and university faculty and staff, collaborated (initially through a literacy discussion group or LDG) over a number of months to develop an interactive hypermedia software program to improve students' literacy. The LDG…

The National Writing Project (NWP) became a key institution in the effort to define a new level of minimum literacy. There is an increasing awareness of the importance of writing as an aid to thinking in all subject areas. The NWP staff development model is described. (MLW)

Focuses on "Bootstrap Training," a scientific literacy program for permanent non-science and part-time adjunct librarians at San Jose State University Library. Describes an initial training-needs questionnaire distributed to all reference personnel, the implementation of a staff development program with scientific literacy goals,…

Eastern Michigan University's opportunity program for underprepared students, called the Promote Academic Survival and Success (PASS) program, is described. The improvement of the students' reading and writing skills was emphasized. This was seen as the most direct way for the students' to achieve academic competence and self-integration. (MLW)

Offers a current perspective on the state of family literacy. Defines family literacy. Discusses family literacy initiatives, future directions, program planning and initiatives, and dissemination activities. (SR)

In 1981, the Faculty Senate, at an upper division midwestern university, initiated the consideration of a literate skills testing program to address variance in academic level of the entering undergraduate student. The policy stipulated that all undergraduate students admitted to a degree program must demonstrate competency in writing and…

A writing across the curriculum program offers an organized and systematic approach to involving all departments in the development of student literacy. Among preliminary steps in implementing these programs are (1) a review of the literature on student literacy, (2) a local assessment of college students' literacy needs, (3) a local assessment of…