Proper acquisition of handwriting is required for success in school. This study compared the effects of two writing readiness interventions, "Traffic Light" and "Word and Sound" on kindergartners' handwriting quality, speed and positive reactions to writing. Handwriting readiness training for kindergarten children is…

Writing in postsecondary foreign language contexts in North America has received far less attention in the curriculum than the development of oral proficiency. This article describes one institution's process of confronting the challenges not only of recognizing the contribution of writing to students' overall linguistic development, but also of…

In this reflective essay, Alberto Ledesma explores how being undocumented can produce a particular form of writer's block. He argues that there is a pattern of predictable silences and obfuscations inherent in all undocumented immigrant autobiographies that cannot be easily negotiated when undocumented students are asked to write about "their…

This article describes the efforts of a U.S. History teacher to directly teach word meanings using the "robust vocabulary instruction" (RVI) approach, because research supports this method as a way to improve vocabulary knowledge for a range of students, including adolescents reading below grade level (i.e., struggling readers) and…

Current research on instructional practices for secondary student writing reveals little emphasis on compositions requiring analysis, interpretation, and argumentation. Indeed, written expression in English language arts classes is generally confined to writing assignments of very limited length. Additionally, recent efforts for educational reform…

Although collaboration is foundational to self-study methodology, few self-studies of teacher education practices have focused on collaborative teaching processes. In this inquiry, two teacher educators report a two-year self-study into the collaborative processes of planning and reflection that they used to co-construct significant changes to…

This paper reports on the results of a two-year study into threshold concepts (TCs) in doctoral writing. The findings informed the development of a thinking to write strategy (the 4x4) that has been implemented as part of a pan-university doctoral writing programme at a New Zealand university.

This exploratory case study considered the opportunities for print literacy learning within multimodal ensembles that featured art, singing and digital media within the context of an intergenerational programme that brought together 13 kindergarten children (4 and 5 years) with seven elder companions. Study questions concerned how reading and…

Career and Technical Education (CTE) centers offer an opportunity for students to engage in authentic reading and writing activities. In many states, "embedding" English and math credits (i.e., allowing students to earn traditional core subject credits in the context of their CTE programs) has become a popular trend. This article reports…

This article analyzes factors that might be associated with Navajo college students' writing anxiety. Oral tradition, reading, syntax, and past experience are the factors discussed. Suggestions based on previous literature and personal experience are provided.

Reaching proficient levels of literacy is a universal goal for all children in the elementary classroom. This objective is especially challenging for English language learners particularly in the domain of writing. Writing has been identified as one of the most essential skills because the world has become so text-oriented. Due to this change,…

Given that teacher professional development is a part of teachers' professional lives and given that billions of dollars have been invested in teacher professional development, this dissertation advocates for research that studies teacher learning and the conditions under which they learn, as an equally important component of studying the impact…

In 2013, the Florida legislature voted to remove the mandate on remedial education in an effort to increase graduation rates. The current study, conducted at Palm Beach State College, was designed to replicate previous research (Alvarez, 2008) by using a quantitative correlational analysis to examine the correlation between the independent…

This qualitative study examines how writers perceive the mobilization and adaptation of their print-based writing knowledge and multiple literacies when remediating written essays into digital stories. It also outlines a pedagogical tool that can help writers reflect on what they might transfer as they compose across media.

This small scale, quantitatively based, research study aimed at exploring one of the most debated areas in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL); and that is, the perceptions and attitudes of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers as well as EFL learners at an English Language Institute (ELI) at a major…