Reflection is an important component of teacher education and forms part of the assessment of candidates on CELTA courses. However, questions remain regarding the level of reflection candidates can demonstrate on the CELTA and how best to assess such reflection. The current study analyses reflective assignments from full-time CELTA candidates in…

Drawing on the outputs of a wider democracy of online reviewers presents the academic study of children's literature with opportunities and challenges, and can enhance critical discussion. As it is now easy to locate a large number of online reviews, it is argued that children's literature studies needs to make room for a wider range of critical…

Most studies on narrative competence have focused on monolingual subjects, and there are very few studies which address this issue in bilingual subjects dealing with two language systems. In the present case study we analyzed and compared the textual and narrative written skills of three deaf and three hearing adolescents attending eighth grade at…

Undergraduate business communication students were surveyed to determine their perceived most effective method of assessment on writing assignments. The results indicated students' preference for a process that incorporates visual, auditory, and e-handwritten presentation via a tablet PC. Students also identified this assessment process would…

In this paper, the authors provide a brief description of written (letter) assignments that use student pairs in a virtual Blackboard-based discussion board. The authors begin their discourse with the purposes for employing this teaching and learning method: (1) To allow students to function in a team structure; (2) To provide written knowledge…

The authors are faculty in history and English, respectively, at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York. What their students want and need, and what the institution's role in the community should be, remain open questions, with policy implications at the departmental, college, city, and even national level. Indeed, President Obama…

The instructional level is helpful when identifying an intervention for math or reading, but researchers have yet to investigate whether the instructional-level concept can be applied to early writing. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend previous research by examining technical features of potential instructional-level criteria…

The effects of progress feedback on university students' writing mastery goal, self-efficacy beliefs, and writing performance were examined in this experiment. Students in the experimental condition (n = 42) received progress feedback on their writing assignment, whereas students in the control condition (n = 44) received feedback without progress…

Most students come to their graduate programs with academic writing skills insufficient to excel in their studies. A lack of academic writing skills among graduate students has been a problem in a college of education at a large southeastern public research university where the project described in this article was implemented. To address this…

The use of simulation games in business courses is a popular method for providing undergraduate students with experiences similar to those they might encounter in the business world. As such, in 2003 the authors were pleased to find a classroom simulation tool that combined the decision-making and team experiences of a senior management group with…

The purpose of this study was to compare scores on writing assignments from traditional, fully online courses in technical writing to pilot, hybrid courses at a southern university. A total of 232 students' assignments were compared in this study. All writing assignments were scored by six trained instructors of English using the same five point…

Self-directed writing is an opportunity for teachers to write with their students, and it is writing that ultimately ends up in the student's portfolio at mid-term and end of term. It is one component of a structured writing class in which students also do other writing assignments. It is important for teachers to communicate their expectations of…

We assessed the benefits of employing microthemes--short in-class writing assignments designed to facilitate active learning--as pedagogical tools in psychology courses. Students in target course sections completed 10 in-class microthemes during a semester. We designed the microthemes to serve as active learning assignments that would enhance…

Capstone courses emphasize students' experiences and learning, rather than course content. This emphasis is consistent with principles and practices fundamental to humanistic education. Here we describe a capstone course, "Internship," that includes five features consistent with humanistic education: (1) student-centered learning, (2) empathic…

In this study, we assessed small and large group discussions and repeated writing assignments with the intent to objectively measure the values of these learning pedagogies. We crafted a model where students researched a question, formulated a written answer, discussed it with their peers, and revised their answers. Then, we did it with repetition…