This study synthesised previous literature focused on college English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programmes for writing. A meta-analysis of identified longitudinal studies (14 samples; 175 effect sizes; N = 602) revealed that the students improved their English writing through EAP programmes (d = 0.45, SE = 0.07, p < 0.001). By computing…

The theory of threshold concepts has given faculty a powerful way to name foundational, but difficult, disciplinary concepts. However, there is no methodological consensus about the best ways to identify them. In this article, we introduce a phenomenographically-derived narrative framework for identifying stages of threshold concept acquisition.…

Many administrators in Learning Assistance Programs (LAPs) have teaching duties, or take on teaching duties at some point in their careers. This study was designed to examine the impact of LAP experience on classroom pedagogy. A pilot study was utilized first through listservs and email chains to ask that question of LAP professionals. After…

This article explores the development of the Summer Tools, Information, Motivation, and Education (SummerTIME) Writing Program, the only program of its kind in Los Angeles that conducts self-assessment. The author describes the geographical and political boundaries separating inner-city Los Angeles high school graduates from higher education,…

The Research Excellence Framework has led to increased scrutiny on the volume/quality of writing produced by academics within higher education institutions. This paper describes the initiation of a writing support programme for teacher educators in a new university and analyses its impact. A key finding has been that supporting staff to write is…

The growing interest in the higher education sector in publishing pedagogical research has led to a focus on professional development for staff who wish to engage in this endeavour. This paper describes and evaluates a specific programme designed to help university staff to prepare and submit a high-quality paper to a peer-reviewed journal.…

This article takes up the "special strangeness" of grading practices in the graduate creative writing workshop, based on the author's research, personal experience, and interviews with the faculty of her doctoral creative writing program. Using a structure of notes, the author attempts to make sense of the way grades are understood by both teacher…

An alarming 30 percent of college freshmen in the nation are considered unprepared for college coursework and assigned to remedial education upon entry. Recent studies have explored the effects of remediation on college outcomes using rigorous quasi-experimental designs, but the results of these studies are inconclusive and the designs typically…

For many students the first-year composition (FYC) classroom marks the beginning of college. The FYC instructor acts as a leader and a mentor for each student who is unique and approaches learning differently. The question is whether students enter the classroom prepared for the challenge of academic writing with a high sense of self-efficacy and…

In 2007, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) funded 22 colleges to establish developmental summer bridge programs. Aimed at providing an alternative to traditional developmental education, these programs involve intensive remedial instruction in math, reading, and/or writing and college preparation content for students entering…

This article presents an annotated bibliography of recent research related to academic advising. It includes 13 research papers that focus on advising.

Reframing the Great Rubric Debate beyond the taking of sides, Eric D. Turley and Chris W. Gallagher propose a set of questions designed to help educators assess the value of rubrics: (1) What is the tool for?; (2) In what context is it used?; (3) Who decides:; and (4) What ideological agenda drives those decisions? They contend that these four…

Discusses the experiences (reading, scoring, discussing, reviewing, refining of scoring, etc.) of a participant in the first-ever competitive review of all sites of the National Writing Project. Notes that the participant read many applications from sites that "lived" the model on which the project is based. (RS)

Describes some of the thinking behind learning communities, how they have been defined, and considers why they can be effective. Suggests a direction that educators might go to rehabilitate the idea of learning communities because it represents something fundamentally good about human beings in their relations with one another. (SG)

Discusses how electronic portfolios show considerable pedagogical, student-outcomes, and program assessment promise but have been plagued by numerous logistical and implementation problems. Describes using an efolios project to solve these problems, enabling students to concentrate on writing rather than on technology and to create an electronic…