A study examined the growth in basic writing and grammar skills of 14 developmental English students. The study determined whether a traditional rule-based, form-centered mode of instruction, combined with a limited writing-process approach, had any significant impact on overall writing quality and grammar skills. It used a quantitative,…

Contending that technology, especially when it networks writers to other writers, is more than a mere scribal tool, this book presents 14 essays designed to ignite interest in technology as one of the material conditions of workplace writing contexts. After an introduction ("Issues of Written Literacy and Electronic Literacy in Workplace…

This thesis describes a study that engaged 2 sections of English Composition I, 50 randomly selected students at Union County College during the fall semester of 1995. The goal of the study was to determine if in this sample population there was a positive correlation between self-concept and writing ability. The variables of the New Jersey…

This report describes a program for motivating reluctant writers. The targeted population consisted of one fourth-grade and four fifth-grade classrooms in three elementary schools. All three schools were located in the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. The problems of reluctant writers were documented with timed writing samples, student and…

Designed to allow teachers immersed in Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) programs and those still contemplating increasing the use of writing in their courses to peer into classrooms of those who have participated in such programs for years, this book reports on the long-term impact upon faculty of WAC programs. The book studies WAC…

A research project aimed to show the rationale, procedure, and implications of an interdisciplinary multimedia-hypertext for composition research. The project, undertaken for 2 semesters, was for an English 102 "Writing about Literature" course which also looked to improve students' writing and critical thinking skills. In a classroom…

Based on the premise that portfolios form part of a process to enable the teacher more truly to become a facilitator, this report presents the narratives of an 8th-grade reading workshop teacher and a 12th-grade honors course teacher. The report begins with a brief section explaining the principles of the project. The format of the report is a…

Cognitively oriented research on writing has altered the manner in which writing is understood and taught. In the 1970s, writing teachers were challenged to improve students' skills. Finding traditional, product-oriented methods inadequate, they were left to discover how they might guide students to develop their skills. L. Flower and J. R. Hayes'…

Intended for teachers of kindergarten through grade 8 who want to improve their students' writing skills, this book is based on existing research findings to serve as a practical guide to procedures, methods, and skills essential for the development of proficiency in written expression of all kinds. The book includes practical, research-based…

This third annual survey investigated teachers' attitudes about writing and reading. Subjects, 507 K-5 teachers and middle, junior high, and senior high school teachers of math, science, social studies, and English teaching in public or private schools, were surveyed by telephone. Results indicated that: (1) a majority of teachers considered…

An advanced composition curriculum was designed for a class of 20 juniors and seniors, and because of the constraints of a university grant with which it was associated, the majority of assignments had to be collaborative. The subject of investigation was composition. That is, the students were challenged to do what composition researchers and…

From January to May, 1991, an educator/researcher met once a week with two classes of students, one at second grade and the other at sixth, to share mathematical stories. Prior to these sessions all the students in these two classes and also all the other second- and sixth-grade students in the same school were asked to write a "math…

A preliminary study examined the experiences and perceptions of experienced teachers about writing and gathered feedback about teaching practices involving direct instruction in process writing. Subjects, 30 experienced elementary teachers enrolled in a graduate-level course on theories of teaching reading and writing, completed a survey about…

Part of a larger ethnographic study, this investigation focused on the literacy development of a college student as he participated in the virtual culture of a computer-networked writing classroom where all instruction and communication occurred through the computer. The student was a member of one of two classes of adult students, ranging in age…

This book explores the findings and beliefs researchers and teachers have shared about classroom practices and children's writing processes, highlighting representative studies with a focus on classroom application. The book examines subjects in a comprehensive review of recent research. It looks at past findings and presents challenging questions…