Discusses the four assessment strategies used in the high school course "Social Advocacy: History, Theory, and Practice." The assessment measures class participation, journal writing, volunteer experience, and written assignments. Explains that the course focuses on social problems and self-discovery. Provides a course description. (CMK)

Describes a personal analogy exercise used to experience metaphors and understand the ability to think metaphorically. States that students engage in an "I am" writing exercise where they select a portrait and write answers to such questions as "how are you like the portrait?" (CMK)

Describes a dual-writing assignment used in two introductory sociology classes in which students write a book review and explore their own career choices through an occupational profile. Discusses the integration of work and career related concepts into the lectures and students' evaluation of the assignment. (CMK)

Focuses on disciplinarity and underlying pedagogical goals in technical writing classrooms by describing a search engine assignment sequence which promotes literate practices in three short reports: (1) a preview/instruction report; (2) an analysis/evaluation report; and (3) a narrative review of a research activity. Concludes with implications…

Describes a unit wherein students reading "The Odyssey" produced visual representations of important story elements, considered differences in Homer's use of language and their own, enacted scenes from "The Odyssey," and wrote goal-setting and interpretive essays. (NH)

Describes an assignment in which senior psychology majors write letters of advice to incoming psychology freshmen. Provides a course context and focuses on the representative results and student evaluations of the assignment. Discusses the different purposes the letters have served. (CMK)

Letter writing in a "Dear Abby" format can encourage your reluctant writers to dig deeper into books by dispensing advice to troubled characters When this author's triplet daughters were in the fifth grade and wrote the advice column for their school newspaper, she discovered giving advice can motivate reluctant writers. This realization prompted …

The authors present a series of writing assignments that teaches students how to evaluate and critique the written economic work of others. The foundation text is McCloskey's (2000) Economical Writing. The students' dialogues with McCloskey, with each other, and with the authors of the pieces they evaluate sharpen their understanding of, and…

The authors explored the perceived effects of an environmental expressive writing exercise by using a modified phenomenological method. The authors asked preservice teachers enrolled in a required public university science and society education course to compose multigenre compositions describing personal environmental impacts, followed by written…

A pilot study provided insight into difficulties experienced by 143 Yr. 2 B.Ed. students in Scotland, writing in a science education context. In studying writing, an 'academic literacies' approach was adopted, focusing on social aspects in addition to identifying flaws. In over 20% of assignments, tutors' assessments identified a need to structure…

Personal and reflective writing assignments in psychology courses may prompt self-disclosure that presents ethical dilemmas. The literature discusses responsibilities of the psychologist in instances such as disclosure of suicidal ideation or threats of harming others within the context of the therapist-client relationship, but significantly less…

This article describes a course in the Department of Science Education, Tel Aviv University, that was designed to teach MA students how to prepare a research assignment in science education. Our students are in-service teachers, graduates in one of the science domains. In general, most of them lack experience in planning and writing research…

Increasingly community colleges are challenged to improve the basic skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening their students need for success in the business world and for transfer to a senior college. One attempt to meet the challenge has been to incorporate more writing assignments into classrooms across all disciplines. Concurrent with…

This article attempts to structure student assessment practices in the classroom. Informed by fourth generation evaluation, it discusses a pedagogy based on a recursive framework of writing, assessment, and reflection activities that move students toward productive praxis. Implemented over three semesters at a land grant university in the U.S.,…

This article describes the increasing pressures on those who teach graduate seminars in composition pedagogy to cover a broad range of texts, topics, and techniques. It argues that in response, pedagogy instructors may need to deliberately (re)design their courses in order to continue to help new writing instructors engage in inquiry and…