This case study involved 3 middle school students in an assessment of the influence of self-reflection on general academic performance. It was hypothesized that increased self-reflection would have a positive influence on academic performance as measured by grades on tests, writing assignments, and homework. The participants were ages 13.4, 13.5,…

In this article, the author explains why he considers "Animal Dreams" by Barbara Kingsolver, "Ceremony" by Leslie Marmon Silko, and "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan as the most desirable books for students. He cites that several questions guide him in selecting these books. These questions include the following: (1) Why recommend certain texts to…

The concept of student voice has become a powerful metaphor in college-level writing class. In this article, the author enthusiastically invites her students to activate their "voices." But like healthy self-concept or freedom or individuality, voice only comes from within. It cannot be given, imposed, and "taught." Too many students seem hesitant…

This paper reports on the effectiveness of an innovative course design that bridges classes from two different disciplines. The "Bridge" design creates assignments in two classes: a summary class and a panel class. The design encourages students to engage in teaching and interacting with their peers within and across disciplines, and…

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…

The task of synthesizing descriptive data from the "root social sciences" to form a usable model for applied research is quite different from the task of employing, verbatim, the theoretical and methodological constructs of those same sciences. This study conceptualizes the instructional encoding conditions that potentially effect and/or affect…

Students are advised to enroll in WAC 101--a writing across the curriculum "Stretch" course--based upon SAT scores. Two types of "at risk" English composition students usually comprise a WAC 101 Stretch class. The first type are the familiar students who are underprepared for college writing courses, while the second are…

English or rhetoric and composition faculty must work to collapse disciplinary boundaries in their institutions. The challenge facing English departments is to collapse the "we-they" mentality, to develop productive partnerships with other departments, and to develop a healthy respect for other disciplines. At Yavapai College in Arizona,…

This paper notes the advantages of using e-mail in computer literacy classes, and discusses the results of incorporating an e-mail assignment in the "Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning and Computer Programming" core course at Brooklyn College (New York). The assignment consisted of several steps. The students first read and responded…

A study examined retelling as a reading comprehension-enhancing technique. Subjects were 26 urban, lower socio-economic fourth graders from New Jersey (Essex County), including 10 girls and 16 boys. A control sample answered questions as a follow-up to reading basal stories; an experimental sample retold the stories as a follow-up. Comparable…

A study examined the belief that to improve education, more must be learned not only about the abilities students bring into the classroom, but also about what the students do outside the classroom. Six freshmen were instructed to keep diaries detailing their views of college life. Each subject was given a blank diary entry on a diskette and…

This paper outlines methods for students in an introductory speech course at Southern Arkansas University to use microcomputers as essential research tools in class assignments. The outline is divided into seven projects, each with two objectives and a list of activities and procedures: (1) speech of introduction; (2) impromptu speech; (3)…

Offering teaching assistants, new faculty members, and adjunct instructors "real-world" scenarios about the many facets of teaching introductory college composition, this book provides situations, sample syllabi, assignments, and journal entries from classrooms. The book's six chapters move from general considerations of assignment…

In a letter to her mother, herself a former English teacher, a teaching assistant details impressions of her first year in the Writing Program at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst). During a semester an instructor gets to know writing students individually in a way that pierces deeply through the veneer of stereotype. The class published…

In the fall of 1993, six faculty at SUNY Plattsburgh launched what they called the "Looking for America Freshman Semester," a program or course cluster of 16 credit hours in American studies, including anthropology, history, literature, philosophy, composition, and library skills. The core assumption underlying this effort was that…