This study investigated the role of talking-to-learn in small- and large-group discussions about a knowledge object and writing-to-learn in individual time after collaborative reasoning and arguing. The study involved a fifth-grade class in Italy studying ecological concepts, and results show that by sharing cognition students constructed more…

Describes "the world of the work" as the state of affairs an artist projects, including what is suggested and inferred as well as what is represented directly. Discusses how teaching "the world of the work" concept to preservice art teachers enables them to access the representational content of artworks. (CMK)

To see if a process writing approach was useful in improving the vocabulary of English-as-a-Foreign-Language students at a Japanese university, a timed composition, and the first and final drafts of a composition written through process writing were analyzed using the lexical frequency profile (LFP). Results showed that there was no significant…

Focuses on complementarity between cognitive and social aspects of writing. Shows that second language (L2) composing processes are constructed in particular social and historical circumstances. Analyzes three areas of L2 composing that are socially mediated: task environment; situated nature of the skilled/unskilled distinction; and the role…

Examines English speaking and writing in the university to provide descriptions of language that are needed to increase the correspondence between the language appearing on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and what students are exposed to at North American universities. Presents a corpus of 2.7 million words gathered from spoken…

Presents a case study of 29 students who were all academic underachievers. Uses only oral assessment to determine the students' progress in a unit of work on physical and human resources. Provides the rationale, procedure, and the initial and final student evaluations. Discusses four limitations of oral assessment. (CMK)

Reviews the use of teaching conflict pedagogy, specifically war narratives, in order to evaluate positions of power. Utilizes the views of compositional theorists, rhetoricians, essayists, and fiction writers in an effort to disengage students from unproductive argumentation models. Challenges past polarities and forges confrontational cooperation…

Discusses the life of Benny Andrews, a recognized artist, cultural leader, and storyteller, and the importance of narrative in his artwork. Provides an interdisciplinary project where the students analyze Andrews'"Autobiographical Series," discuss the series as a form of storytelling, and then write their own family story. (CMK)

Studied children's perceptions of what constitutes good writing to see how those might better inform the teacher's instruction. Found that when supported by peers and teachers, the children were able to balance their need to produce conventionally correct writing with their need to make writing interesting to themselves and others. (Author)

Examines the role of noticing in the second language writing process. A case study was conducted with two Mandarin background adult learners of English as a Second Language. The study documents the relationship of noticing, both in the composing stage and in the reformulation stage, to the improvement of the written product in the posttest of a…

Describes a family history course for first-year college students that emphasizes critical thinking skills. The course is organized first chronologically, through three historically-ideal types of families, and then by topics, such as generational relations and courtship. Includes a list of concepts and words students must know. (CMK)

Provides suggestions for creating a writing-intensive course. Focuses on meeting course goals or objectives with student writing, describing the different types of writing assignments and discussing the mixture of assignments, amount of writing, and ensuring success. Includes a syllabus for a writing-intensive undergraduate sociology course. (CMK)

Investigated the participant roles learners adopted in two different writing environments: synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) and pencil-and-paper group journals. Subjects were students of intermediate German who participated in two CMC and two group journal assignments over the course of a 15-week semester. (Author/VWL)

Discussion of elementary school children who have a preferred visual learning style focuses on a study that investigated the impact of the use of computers and a visually rich software program in a constructivist classroom environment on their writing. Results show an increase in volume and linguistic complexity in their writing skills. (LRW)

Drawing on sociological and philosophical studies of science, science educators have begun to view argumentation as a central scientific practice that students should learn. In this article, we extend recent work to understand the structure of students' arguments to include judgments about their quality through content analyses of high school…