Proficiency with written expression is critical for students' academic success. Unfortunately, writing presents a challenge for both students and teachers. Recent data suggest that many students in U.S. schools fail to meet even the most basic writing standards. And even when students receive effective (i.e., evidence-based) writing instruction,…

The under-achievement of boys in the language components of standardised tests, together with a perception of boys as having negative attitudes towards the English curriculum, has led to boys being positioned as struggling writers. This article reflects critically on this construction, drawing on data from an Economic and Social Research Council…

This article introduces an activity based on Standard 12 of the "Standards for Technological Literacy" that will help students develop good writing skills. It also describes the elements of a writing prompt and of a rubric, the advantages of using rubrics, and the writing development process itself. It provides an activity through which students…

This self-reflexive personal narrative charts the autoethnographic journey of an adult educator, exploring her own practices, values and beliefs about teaching. Drawing upon postmodern scholarship in reflexive literary methodologies, the author uses personal memoirs as a research text for engaging in a process of interpretation and…

This essay shows the range to complexity for assessing academic service learning experiences. Corso recommends that instructors understand expectations for cognition, affective response, and communication competence as they place students into academic service learning experiences and as they assess learning outcomes within such contexts. Corso…

Purpose: The primary goal of this study was to document the progression of the microstructural elements of written language in children at 4 grade levels. The secondary purpose was to ascertain whether the variables selected for examination could be classified into valid categories that reflect the multidimensional nature of writing. Method:…

In recent years effective instruction in reading for learners with physical and educational disabilities has received great attention in the schools. However, instruction in the corollary skill of writing has received considerably less emphasis. This review paper notes that through the use of assistive technology, students with a variety of…

Time and opportunity to discover truths are essential in education. Discovery takes repetition and trial and error. Discovery crosses intellectual and disciplinary boundaries as well. What is learned through the diverse experiences of one's academic and individual lives will pollinate each other if there is room left for discovery. The tyranny of…

In this study we examine how university plagiarism policies interact with international graduate students' academic writing in English as they develop identities as authors and students. The study is informed by the sociocultural theoretical perspective [Vygotsky, L. (1978). "Mind in society: The development of higher mental processes." Cambridge,…

This paper reports on a year-long project in which students participated as both readers and writers of blogs. Specifically, this study examines the steps students progress through while reading and writing blogs, students' reactions to blogging, and how self-expression is characterised in the blogosphere. Data from student blogs, reports, and…

There are not many English words for "anger." There's "wrath" and "ire," although no one uses "ire" anymore and hardly anyone "wrath." There's "frustration," "resentment," and "indignation," but they don't have the emotional intensity of "anger," a word that…

In recent years teacher education has used the process and practices of research to improve pre-service teachers' pedagogical practices. Pre-service teachers, however, generally prefer to understand the practices of teaching rather than research. This paper considers the writing process rather than the research process as central to the…

In our increasingly complex world, independent information collection is very important and with the help of modern technology this is becoming easier each day. However, it is very difficult if knowledge and training about how to structure information in a domain specific geographical way is missing. By "domain specific," we mean the…

This case study closely examines how John (a former student of mine, age eight, second grade) composed during an informal writing group at school. Using qualitative research methods, I found that John selectively took up conventions, characters, story grammars, themes, and motifs from video games, television, Web pages, and comics. Likening his…

By the time they reach preschool or kindergarten, young children are already writers. They don't have much experience, but they're filled with stories to tell and ideas to express--they want to show the world what they know and see. All they need is a nurturing teacher to recognize the writer at work within them. Taking an exciting, new approach…