Annmarie Guzy teaches honors composition at the University of South Alabama. This essay discusses her observation that students who took her class were more likely to complete the honors program, which led to her wondering what elements of her course might give students an edge in honors program completion. As an English professor with training in…

This practitioner research study investigates the power of multimodal texts within a real-world context and argues that a participatory culture focused on literary arts offers marginalized high school students opportunities for collaborative design and authoring. Additionally, this article invites educators to rethink the at-risk label. This…

This article provides a framework for creating and using writing assignments based on four types of writing: personal, expository, critical, and creative. This framework includes specific areas of student growth affected by these writing styles. Illustrative sample assignments are given throughout for each type of writing and various combinations…

Drawing on assets-oriented, sociocultural theories of imagination and learning, the authors argue that the improvisational qualities and expanded resources of dramatic approaches to teaching make a positive difference in the quality of and persistence in students' story writing. The authors describe findings from a controlled quasi-experimental…

This research focuses on Finnish students' (n = 84) experiences of using personal iPads in their studies through 3 years of upper secondary schooling. It is based on results from one of the first schools in Finland where all the new students were provided with iPads at the start of their studies. Data consists of: (i) 127 short stories written by…

Writing is considered as a daunting task in second language learning. It is argued by most scholars that this challenge is not only limited to second language speakers of English but even to those who speak English as their first language. Thus, the ability to communicate effectively in English by both native and non-native speakers requires…

This study explores the impact of hybrid instructional spaces on the purposeful and expansive use of translanguaging practices. Utilizing technology, the study explores the role of multimodality in bilinguals' language multiplicity and dynamism. The research addresses: (a) how do emergent bilinguals in dual language programs deploy their full…

This study provides an approach to teaching and learning in the international business (IB) classroom about cultural values, beliefs, attitudes, and norms through the study of cultural metaphor. The methodology is based on established qualitative methods by using participants' visual pictures and written explanations--representative of their…

An early foundation in writing offers students a valuable tool for learning, communication, and self-expression. Authored by a panel of experts, the "Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers" practice guide presents four recommendations educators can use to help elementary students strengthen their writing skills. The…

Instructional tips help educators carry out recommendations contained in IES Educator's Practice Guides. The tips, based on a practice guide authored by Steve Graham, Alisha Bollinger, Carol Booth Olson, Catherine D'Aoust, Charles MacArthur, Deborah McCutchen, and Natalie Olinghouse, translate these recommendations into actionable approaches that…

Senior teachers in Bahraini public schools are a part of the Kingdom's national educational reform initiatives underway. The main role they play is that of leading and managing a group or cluster of teachers who teach the same subject matter at the same grade level. They are therefore more or less like "department heads". With advances…

Emotions influence motivation and achievement, but negative emotions have rarely been assessed in science education. In this study, we assessed the influence of two different expressive writing assignments on disgust and anxiety in university students prior to the dissection of a trout. We randomly assigned students to one of two expressive…

This study investigated students' plagiarism practices in Tanzania higher learning institutions by involving two universities-one public and one private university as a case study. The universities involved have honour code and policies for plagiarism detection however they do not employ software for checking students' plagiarism. The study…

One of the most difficult challenges of incorporating literacy in the classroom--as called for by the "Common Core State Standards" (NGAC and CCSSO 2010)--is inspiring reluctant writers. Students are often unmotivated by essay assignments or having to write answers to open-ended questions. Some students may even view these as obstacles…

This study examines how a class of Grade 7 students employed linguistic resources to explain density differences. Drawing from the same data-set as a previous study by, we take a language perspective to investigate the challenges students face in learning the concept of density. Our study thus complements previous research on learning about…