Describes instructional strategies used in project-based introductory instructional design courses taught at Purdue and Florida State Universities. Discusses use of reflective summaries instead of quizzes, in-class demonstration of sample student projects, project-based application assignments, "mastery approach" (students revise and…

Reports on classroom experiments with replacing standard student report-style papers with more expressive, explorational writing assignments. Outlines how course readings are used as the basis for a paper that takes the form of a series of letters or postcards to an imaginary or real person. Provides examples from student projects. (DSK)

Describes how students in an Advanced Literature and Composition Course specialized for business students encountered an ethics assignment used as a culminating activity which employs course skills in research, writing, documentation, oral presentation, group dynamics, and multimedia design. (SR)

Discusses abuse of the Internet as an information source for classroom assignments and emphasizes the need for librarians to teach students and staff to evaluate information sources. Considers content, source, access, and structure, and lists Web sites that have evaluation guidelines as well as examples of bad sites. (LRW)

Notes that kindergarten children often use invented spelling but want to learn the correct way to spell. Presents components of a spelling program that allows a variety of learning procedures while maintaining a reasonable amount of independence for students. Program includes weekly homework assignments, daily spelling efforts, picture/word…

Discusses the class-related logbook, a semester-long writing assignment that focuses on teaching the process of using regular writing as a powerful professional tool apart from the formal documents required on the job. (WRM)

Offers an assignment designed to arouse students' interest in U.S. government. Expounds that students choose a political novel and then must address three topics in their papers: (1) plot and political themes; (2) relevant parts of lecture and textbook; and (3) accurate/inaccurate depiction of politics in their novel. (CMK)

Analyzes four informal science-related writing tasks produced by seventh-grade students (n=374) from two schools with different socioeconomic populations. Demonstrates that students' informal writing in the science context can provide a rich source of information regarding students' cognitive and attitudinal engagement with science. (Author/CCM)

Outlines a unit of study of Baz Luhrmann's 1997 film version of "Romeo and Juliet" for Year 10 students in Australia. Includes a series of lessons/questions and activities that include directing students (1) to consider speed and editing and character analysis; (2) to engage in language comparison; and (3) to generate extended responses.…

In cooperation with Texas A&M University's Center for Teaching Excellence, an interactive Library Assignment Workshop was developed to educate teaching faculty on designing effective library related assignments. Feedback from workshop attendees was positive and supported repeating the workshop several times per year, with a focus on new…

Presents two assignments that are designed to help students (at the high school and college levels) to develop a sense of place while building skills to improve their narrative writing. Includes the assignment sheet. Describes how students create a Michigan Travel Guide from their final drafts. (SR)

Presents and describes a narrative writing assignment used by the author in a developmental writing course that helps to demonstrate to students how and why sexist language usage can limit thinking, sometimes injuriously, and that concretely illustrates how language and gender stereotyping interact causally. Describes the assignment, how it is…

Extracts from four case studies of student readers describe how students approached the reading of the same text, the students' general approach to academic reading, and their feelings about reading and being a student. Suggests that the normally neutral or pleasurable private activity of reading is disturbed in the academic context by the threat…

Describes a method the author has used successfully with elementary school classes that enables students to enjoy the process of revision in their prose-writing. Notes that the exercises can be used in any time frame or circumstance. (SR)

Describes teaching methods that promote reflexivity, a practice of observing and locating one's self as a knower within certain cultural and sociohistorical contexts, in order to open up the classroom for all students. Provides seven strategies that each incorporate reflexivity within a course, such as modeling and inviting speakers. (CMK)