In the English classroom, narrative writing is often separated from the work of reading literature or used merely to coax reluctant students into discussing textually relevant topics. This article discusses a close writing activity, Image Explosion, that engages students in narrative writing that brings attention to the smallest details of…

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association encourages university programs to cultivate skills related to client health literacy among students. One means of doing so is to train students to write in a way that places lower health literacy demands on clients and their families. This study tested the effectiveness of a health literacy module…

Writing in second Chinese writing is viewed as one of the least used skills in classroom practice for educators (Kubler, 1997). While writing research has emphasized the importance of regarding writing as a social activity, mainstream writing instruction and task design remain to decontextualized and monologic (Liu, 2015). This dissertation…

This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. This issue offers tips on writing an effective case study.

Reflection is a necessary component of learning. Through reflective assignments and tasks, students are given opportunities to evaluate their learning and analyze strategies they use while acquiring and applying course material. Reflections also help students assess and think deeply about the information presented in class and thus better retain…

As a first-year writing instructor, I generally expect a few mainstays: a handful of bored students, recurring absences, and plenty of covert texting. In order to disrupt the usual lackluster engagement associated with required classes, I approach my writing seminar like a theatre class. By incorporating common performance practices such as the…

This study aimed to find out the relationship among EFL university teachers' code-based and meaning-based beliefs in writing instruction, classroom writing activities and classroom organization. To this end, 120 university teachers, who were teaching writing to EFL learners at different universities in Iran, participated in the study. For the data…

Responsive professional development is about watching learners closely, interpreting observations to make nuanced decisions, and taking action to support learners at particular moments. What might they be ready to do next? What instructional moves will best provide "just enough" support? In other words, what is the next wise action?…

English has been widely spoken in the world and seen as the language of education, communication, economics and etc., for a long time and it can be accepted as lingua franca. Knowledge of a language includes four basic language skills, these are listening, reading, speaking, and writing. In this study writing was investigated in detail and it was…

Effective feedback is an essential tool for making learning explicit and an essential feature of classroom practice that promotes learner autonomy. Yet, it remains a pressing challenge for teachers to scaffold the active involvement of students as critical, reflective and autonomous learners who use feedback constructively. This paper seeks to…

Purpose: This paper aims to draw on the analysis of instruction and student work in an English Language Arts classroom to discuss how teachers may support dispossessed students' journeys toward radical healing (Ginwright, 2010) by using critically caring pedagogies -- pedagogies grounded in teachers' deep understanding of the systemic inequalities…

Mindful of the fact that one of the most important ingredients in learning to write in a foreign language is motivation, the authors have experimented in their classes with a wide range of exercises from a very useful source: Gianni Rodari's "Grammatico della Fantasia: lntroduzione all'arte di inventare storie" (Torino: Piccola Biblioteca Einandi,…

Teaching scientific writing in biology classes is challenging for both students and instructors. This article offers and reviews several useful "toolkit" items that improve student writing. These include sentence and paper-length templates, funnelling and compartmentalisation, and preparing compendiums of corrections. In addition,…

To gain a deeper understanding of young adolescent motivation and developmental needs as the nation plunges ahead with the national Common Core Standards and their implications for writing instruction, the authors of this article pondered five questions as they studied their own middle school writing team: (1) What intrinsic motivators drive these…

When it comes to academic work, students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have the required knowledge but struggle to get their thoughts down in writing. This is a practical guide to teaching and improving writing skills in students with ASD to meet academic writing standards and prepare for the increased expectations of higher education.…