Writing can be a powerful tool for learning biology. Writing assignments in biology could help students personalize and understand the biology knowledge they are studying. In this article, the authors present the "Botanical Sense of Place" (BSP), a convenient and easy-to-use writing template that they developed to elicit and probe students' prior…

The "ISSS Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. The following papers are included in the 2013 proceedings: (1) Teaching About Asia in a Social Science Education Program (Cyndi Mottola Poole and Joshua L. Kenna); (2) Teaching Students about…

A study determined the effectiveness of using a computer word processor as compared to the traditional paper-and-pencil method for process story writing. Students in a first-grade classroom in the Mark Gardiner Hoyle Elementary School located in Swansea, Massachusetts, were randomly divided into a control group of 12 students and an experimental…

Experiential learning is, in its most simplistic form, a philosophical perspective that links the concrete with the abstract. If experiential learning utilizes the experiences of the learner, television is part of the learner's experience, and to ignore the pervasiveness of mass media in modern society is to ignore part of the lived experience of…

Responding to the dramatic changes in the style and form of communication, a communication instructor integrated the Internet into his communication courses at a liberal arts college. Students are required to sign up for a discussion group (listserv) that focuses on the course offering as well as a discussion group in their area of interest. Every…

This journal contains the following articles pertaining to English instruction in rural schools: (1) "Different, To Be Sure" (Nathan James Weate) compares rural and urban students and finds rural students to have strong family cohesiveness, strong moral values, and diversified interests; (2) "An Elevating Experience" (Dorothy Trusock) describes a…

This study sought to compare undergraduate's perceptions of and attitudes toward an educational psychology course in which two distinct types of course readings were used, namely an education psychology textbook versus primary sources. A total of 15 students were enrolled in the course during the fall semester and used the textbooks (Anita…

Through three semesters of teaching the nonfiction essay, an instructor has come to terms with the fact that she has yet to attempt the type of personal essay that she asks her students to write, essays in which personal experiences with death are shared. However, a reminiscence on death through a recounting of her reactions to and understanding…

A study described and evaluated a program for increasing student retention and transfer of weekly spelling words into daily writing. The targeted population consisted of second-grade students in two different middle-class communities. One community was growing, while the other was more established; both are located in suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.…

In a basic-level writing course at the University of Minnesota, students were asked to read and engage in intelligent conservation about Keith Gilyard's "Voices of the Self." The book is about education but alternates autobiographical material with scholarly analysis. Literacy researchers expect students to read a text, understand what…

Reflecting on the partnership that exists between teachers and students, this resource guide provides a glimpse into the experiences of educators who reflect on their own teaching and learning about writing. The resource guide is part of the "Student Expressions" series, whose aim is to provide a forum for celebrating the writing of…

Developed as a teaching aid for a General Educational Development (GED) preparation class, this essay writing guide gives students the tools they need to develop and organize ideas for writing an essay with confidence. By following a sequential procedure in this very structured approach, students learn to turn out a well-organized essay. The…

In a Purdue University English 101 class, students were told to identify an audience outside the classroom for each paper they wrote. The central challenge to composition teachers is preserving elements valued in teaching academic writing in the context of ill-defined problems to be addressed outside the classroom. Most useful for instructors…

This paper discusses the Pony Express and offers the use of anecdotes as a way to make history more interesting to students. Along with facts about the Pony Express, there are activities for writing projects for enrichment purposes. Activities include: (1) letter writing; (2) news releases; and (3) diary writing. Suggestions are made for similar…

In an age when the paperless office is fast becoming a reality, the need for a paperless writing course has arisen. This paper presents an easy and inexpensive way to design a paperless writing course by taking advantage of the annotation feature available on many word processors, such as Microsoft Word or Lotus Ami Pro. The annotation feature…