Although summer is a glorious time for many, with a summer off, comes the real issue of potential loss of skills. When English language learning is taken into account, summer has an even greater potential for backslide not only in terms of content but also in English language development. For some ELLs, a summer away from school can also mean a…

This article describes the design and implementation of a 1-credit-hour seminar in comparative psychology as a supplement to an introductory biopsychology course. The purpose of the course was to introduce students to the ecological and evolutionary aspects of animal behavior by building on topics that are introduced in many biopsychology courses.…

This article is a report of the impact of an innovative assignment within an upper-division gerontology course in a public university. Although designed to enhance the understanding of important aging concepts for students in a Family Studies program, analysis of student writings revealed an increased understanding of the actual subject…

Cassidy, a talented artist in my third-grade classroom, struggled with classroom assignments. It's not that she wasn't capable of high-level work, but tasks such as spelling tests, arithmetic practice, and test preparation worksheets were making for a very unhappy child. Cassidy was consistently eager to participate in learning activities that had…

Students' response to the feedback they receive on written assignments is an important but relatively under-researched aspect of teaching and learning. This paper presents an analysis of over 3000 written comments made on 106 assignments in three course modules in a Technology faculty, and also the results of telephone interviews with 43 of the…

This article considers the emotional and psychological complexities of responding to personal narratives when the focus is war. The author teaches at a community college and she always begins her semester with a narrative assignment for the usual reasons: students write better when they write what they know; teachers should scaffold writing…

Knowledge of Geographic Information Systems is quickly becoming an integral part of the natural resource professionals' skill set. With the growing need of professionals with these skills, we created an advanced geographic information systems (GIS) exercise for students at Clemson University to introduce them to the concept of error analysis,…

The discussion will describe how rubrics can help to provide effective assessment criteria for evaluating written assignments in college undergraduate classes. A student-centered theory focus will highlight how valuable teacher/student communication can help lead to improving student writing. Rubrics can be a practical way to improve feedback,…

Sometimes materials used in schools with good intentions can have effects opposite from those stated. Through the microscopic analysis of a parent-student immigration interview assignment on a social studies unit on immigration, this article aims to uncover the hidden story that underlies the questions asked. In so doing, it intends not only to…

Experiential learning and reflective writing are important components of college instructors' repertoires. Learning is not complete without proper reflection. The purpose of this study was to examine undergraduate students' perceptions of learning in a leadership course that emphasized experiential learning methods. The respondents included the…

In today's organizations, ethical challenges relate to areas like fraud, right to privacy for consumers, social responsibility, and trade restrictions. For Information Technology (IT) specifically, these can translate to considerations on how technology is used to violate people's privacy, how automation leads to job reductions, or how management…

How do you know what students in your course "took away" with them? Why not ask? Through a learning portfolio assignment, I invited students to show: how they met the course objectives; connections they made to other courses as well as aspects of their lives; and their views and perspectives about the course material and processes. They…

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…

Recent scholarship in rhetoric and composition has come to identify the English teaching assistant preparation seminar as a polemic site. In general, the seminar exists for the purpose of preparing graduate students to teach first-year composition. The fuel igniting this research lies with the teaching assistants and their educators who have…

In many schools of India, students of even elementary level are encouraged to use computer and the Internet for carrying out assignments independently during the summer break. This reflects the schools' efforts to use the potential of Information and communication technology (ICT) for supporting constructive learning. Technology can also address…