The letter format, whether on paper or on computers, fosters student collaboration and a virtual community. Letters have real audiences, even when those audiences are fictional, as in epistolary novels and imaginative writing assignments. Most adult, non-traditional students (such as those at Tidewater Community College in Virginia) know that…

The use of reflective SEED and I-Search papers in a higher education classroom at North Carolina's Ramseur College has allowed both undergraduate and graduate education students to reflect on their knowledge and experiences, gain meaning from these higher educational experiences, and make connections between their learning and the "real…

A course was developed at Austin Peay State University (Tennessee) which offered an opportunity for hands-on experience with the essential components of modern analytical instruments. The course aimed to provide college students with the skills necessary to construct a simple model instrument, including the design and fabrication of electronic…

According to a recent article by Richard Fulkerson, there is some consensus among those who teach writing about what makes writing good. Apparently, a growing number of writing instructors' aims constitute what Fulkerson calls "rhetorical axiology." Rhetorical axiology is a belief system in which teachers value highly "overall…

For many students, grammar represents a baffling set of capricious rules wielded by "sadistic" English teachers for the sole purpose of making their lives miserable. To combat this misconception and to dispel the mystery and empower students with the ability to use the conventions of standard written English, a series of student…

Ideas and step-by-step instructions for creating and using chants, poetry, and songs in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom are presented. The technique is offered as an alternative to conventional pattern practice, emphasizing rhythms of the spoken language and reinforcing structures, sounds, and functions of American English. Ideas…

To effectively study the political, socioeconomic, and cultural effects of the media, it is important to examine the context of the community in which the media operates. To do this, students must think critically and develop a historical perspective of the changing role of each media within this community. The term community is used in the…

Calling for a radical reexamination of the traditional foundation of composition instruction--the thesis/support form, this book argues that the essay, with its informality, conversational tone, meditative mood, and integration of form and content, is better suited to developmental, epistemological, ideological, and feminist rhetorical…

A study determined the effect of shared writing activities on reading comprehension. The subjects, 40 second- and third-grade students from a suburban school in Mercer County, West Virginia, completed the Reading Comprehension Subtest of the Comprehension Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) for grade 2 as a pretest. A control group of 20 students were…

The goal of teaching philosophy is to develop philosophically literate students and to ensure that students develop philosophical literacy by design and not by chance. Perhaps the best method for teaching philosophy to beginning students is the public model, in which the practice of defending positions in the public arena forces students to become…

Use of group story writing in second language classes is discussed, and specific instructional techniques are outlined. In this activity, students sit in a circle and each begins to write a story. The story beginning is passed to the next student, who adds a portion and passes the story on. This pattern continues until stories are completed and…

The contact zones in teaching writing are connected in multiple ways. A principal concern is how students learn to write for the disciplines, but the focus is the relationship between composition specialists and their colleagues throughout the disciplines. In the early days of writing across the curriculum (WAC), writing was seen primarily as a…

According to author David Roochnik, the "tragedy of logos" refers to the condition of having a "logos" (meaning a view of the rational structure of the world) and colliding with its limits and limitations. The tragedy of logos arises when some event or experience shows that things are otherwise, because tragedy entails the…

The technical writing teacher discovers two things about his/her students: they do not like to write and they do not like to read. They are not in the class because they are motivated, but because they must be there as part of a technical or vocational degree. One of the most common complaints about the class is, "I don't need to know how to…

The theory and practice of whole language teaching should be integral and simultaneous components of preservice teacher education. A number of instructional strategies and class activities can be used to provide preservice teachers with experiences similar to experiences they will provide to elementary school children. Examples of class activities…