Whilst approaches to the development of undergraduate academic writing skills vary between disciplines and institutions, academic tutors are consistently presented as playing an important role. One aspect of this role is supporting students to engage effectively with feedback in order to develop consciousness and competence regarding academic…

Standard classroom tests tend to showcase what students know at that point in time and do not usually reflect real-life mathematics. They are not always accurate indicators of what students understand and how they understand it. Portfolios are tools that allow students a better opportunity to exhibit mathematical growth in understanding and…

Presents a technique used during the first five minutes of class that elicits from students written responses to questions of their understanding of mathematical content or their attitudes toward their mathematics class specifically, or mathematics in general. Provides sample questions from algebra, geometry, and general mathematics. (MDH)

Presents a Project WET water education activity. Students use a Water Log (journal or portfolio) to write or illustrate their observations, feelings, and actions related to water. The log serves as an assessment tool to monitor changes over time in knowledge of and attitudes toward the water. (LZ)

Discusses issues in the design and assessment of classroom writing tasks assigned across the U.S. college curriculum. The article analyzes successful and unsuccessful writing across the curriculum assignments, particularly from the perspective of English-as-a-Second-Language writers, and offers suggestions to enable teachers design and assess…

A study was conducted at John Abbott College to establish the reliability and validity of holistic evaluation for assessing learning in content courses. The study involved: (1) an informal poll of members of 22 departments concerning the acceptability of holistic evaluation within their department; (2) a faculty survey to ascertain opinions…

Miami-Dade community colleges and middle schools participated in a three-year project designed to improve female students' mathematics skills and prepare them for technical jobs. Faculty encouraged the application of transactional writing in college and middle school algebra, to determine whether combining communication skills with mathematical…