One ingredient that may serve as a catalyst for writing development is changes in writing knowledge. This study assessed the veracity of two tenets underlying this proposal: that skilled writers are more knowledgeable than less skilled writers, and that individual differences in knowledge are related to writing performance. Both of these…

The paper draws on in-depth qualitative comments from student evaluation of an e-learning module on an MSc in Information Technologies and Management, to develop a picture of their perspective on the experience. Questionnaires that yielded some basic quantitative data and a rich seam of qualitative data were administered. General questions on…

In this article, the author talks about Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bones." Over the past 20 years, she has referred to its pages whenever she needs a chapter of cheery Buddhist philosophy to soften an onslaught of editorial rejection slips. In the midst of any heady publishing success, she turns to the book to remind her that,…

This study, using the "Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale" (CES-D), investigated the moods, perceptions, and behavioral changes among college students during the week following September 11 and again 11 weeks later. Originally, we had planned to survey college students using the CES-D on September 12th and 13th as part…

Previous work has established that a narrated animation is more effective at communicating a complex biological process (signal transduction) than the equivalent graphic with figure legend. To my knowledge, no study has been done in any subject area on the effectiveness of animations versus graphics in the long-term retention of information, a…

The author's PhD training and 25 years of teaching experience did not prepare her for dealing with widespread cheating. Is it better to confront cheaters personally, or just fix the evaluation system and move on? How can the process of failing cheaters be handled in a way that is fair to all? Finally, can a potentially disastrous cheating incident…

In this article, two teacher educators examine two curriculum moments they have experienced, one with children and the other with pre-service teachers. They find possibilities for shifts in their understandings and insights into their own identity making and that of students. Drawing upon Connelly and Clandinin's (1992) notion of teachers as…

An instructor of a basic communication course began a section designed for students with high levels of communication apprehension. To the basic format of the course, the instructor added sections on the nature of communication apprehension, goal setting, relaxation, visualization, and performance activities that gradually increased in complexity…

Until researchers achieve a breakthrough on comprehending what comprehending is all about, teachers need help on how to help students comprehend what they are reading. According to schema theory, students must be able to pronounce almost all key words and have schemata previously instantiated (know the meanings of almost all key words) in order to…

Two studies among U.S. college students (n=88 and n=329) examined the relationships between the order in which responses are offered on a questionnaire and the ranked importance of those responses. Study 1 included 36 males and 52 females, and Study 2 included 127 males and 202 females. Both studies found that approximately one-third (32 percent…

The reliability of the Student-Life Stress Inventory of B. M. Gadzella (1991) was studied. The inventory consists of 51 items listed in 9 sections indicating different types of stressors (frustrations, conflicts, pressures, changes, and self-imposed stressors) and reactions to the stressors (physiological, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive) as…

A study measured students' emotional response to teacher behaviors based upon the theory of implicit communication. Subjects, 281 undergraduate student volunteers of preexisting, intact introductory communication courses at a southwestern university, completed questionnaires. As in previous research, teacher use of affinity-seeking behaviors…

This document describes a study to assess the change in students' responses toward the visual arts as a result of their participation in an entrance level art course. The course was structured to provide the students with an understanding of art skills, a recognition of excellence in art objects, and knowledge of diversity of delivery through…

The connections between art therapy and the teaching of writing are many. The process of art therapy is essentially art making followed by talk--a process that parallels the process of writing and reflecting about writing that is encouraged in writing classrooms. It is a process aimed at self discovery and consciousness, whether in a writing…

A distinction is drawn between public policy issues which are specific to time and place, and the kind of moral dilemma used by Kohlberg which is more general and universal. It is hypothesized that the same type of reasoning will be revealed by both. (Editor)