The effect of teaching parents of 26 at-risk middle school students to facilitate a home-based self-management program to improve homework performances and academic achievement was investigated. Results indicated overall levels of homework completion and homework quality increased significantly for those students whose parents consistently…

First years students' experiences and knowledge about research paper writing were studied to investigate how strongly the process writing movement has influenced instructional practice, and how appropriately students have been prepared for their college experience. Finds that many of the students arrived at college without the experience of…

Describes a project for a history survey course where students visit a historic site and write an essay that identifies a broad theme in history relating the site to the theme; the students must also reflect upon their own learning process. Discusses the merits of the project providing student responses. Gives an appendix. (CMK)

Describes the experience of one developmental reading class instructor in using articles from current event publications to foster problem solving, synthesis and analysis, and perspective-taking. Discusses the assignments given to the students and the process used for evaluating student work. Includes a six-step demonstration of study strategies.…

Describes characteristics of effective and enjoyable learning activities, that can be grouped into these categories: (1) Assignments that Matter; (2) Activities that Involve the Researcher; (3) Assessments that Help By Promoting Growth and Showing Care; and (4) (Teacher) Attitude is Everything. A sidebar presents a four-level research question…

Investigates written communication concepts and strategies integrated into core courses in the College of Business and Economics at the California State University Northridge. Finds striking differences in writing policies, writing standards, assignments, types and results of assessment, and faculty perceptions about writing across the curriculum.…

Outlines exercises for high school and college students that use student-written poems, published adult poems, and synectics (a game-like forced comparison between dissimilar objects) to help students understand the writer's most powerful comparison device: metaphor. (SR)

Addresses key issues facing designers of Web-based university courses. Topics include online courses; the technologies involved; online study guides; assignments; online examples; course communications; interactive skill building; theoretical bases; and constructivism and instructional design. (Author/LRW)

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)

This article describes the experiences of a sixth-grade language arts class that participated in a research and portfolio-writing exercise using the school library media center. Students in this class learned that organization and process are central to the completion of a successful research project. After learning various note-taking strategies…

Using an authentic assessment approach, two California State University, Fullerton, faculty members developed instructional strategies in support of an assignment that requires students to situate their families within a historical framework. We describe our efforts to provide students with the research skills to successfully complete the…

Uzbekistan faces severe ecological problems including the rapidly shrinking Aral Sea, desertification, residues of biochemical weapons, and environmentally related respiratory disease. Even so, the country's print and broadcast media do little in-depth or analytical reporting on environmental issues, nor are journalists trained to cover such…

As an increasing number of U.S. corporations position themselves for international competition, the demand for cross-culturally competent employees is expected to rise. However, reports suggest that graduates of U.S. business schools lack cross-cultural skills, prompting employers to recruit international students. The authors designed a study…

Objective: To lead a brief training session over a distance-learning network. Type of speech: Informative. Point value: 20% of course grade. Requirements: (a) References: Not specified; (b) Length: 15 minutes; (c) Visual aid: Yes; (d) Outline: No; (e) Prerequisite reading: Chapters 12-16, 18 (Bailey, 2002); (f) Additional requirements: None. This…

Students are most successful in online courses that provide ample opportunities for them to interact with the instructor, other students, and the course content. An interactive online course must engage students as active learners rather than as passive participants. How can instructors design virtual classrooms that offer students with a variety…