Background: This study involved a bicoastal project between four composition classes, two in California and two in Pennsylvania. The focus was on how students read, write, and converse about ethnic and spiritual distinctiveness and the role of writing in identity development. Purpose: The researchers exercised a variety of methods (diverse…

Substantial increases in the size of many undergraduate classes in recent years have limited the ways in which students can engage with their disciplines and become active participants in their learning. This paper presents a methodology which uses a basic WebCT platform to improve the way in which students in large classes learn. The approach,…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of multi-drafting among college students according to demographic characteristics and measure its impact on students' achievements. Design/methodology/approach: The research was conducted in two stages. First, a preliminary research based on data from the Highlearn web-based content…

This article used work from the writing assessment literature to develop a framework for assessing the impact and perceived value of written, audio, and combined written and audio feedback strategies across four global and 22 discrete dimensions of feedback. Using a quasi-experimental research design, students at three U.S. universities were…

Developed by national reading experts for "reading partners" to use with children, ages birth to grade 6, this Spanish-language booklet presents activities that help very young children to get ready for reading and writing, and guide older children to expand their reading and writing interests and skills. The booklet has three sections,…

Presents a five-day study unit that provides positive and negative views of Columbus' voyages. Explains that lessons include reading and writing assignments culminating in a debate of the implications of the Columbian legacy. Offers questions designed to prompt students to defend their views on Columbus. Identifies instructional objectives and…

Describes how one geology teacher relies on written and oral assignments both as learning tools and as a means to motivate students and assess their work. Frequent written and oral assignments dramatically improve the levels of engagement and learning. Presents some advantages of written and oral assignments and includes examples. (PVD)

In this paper, the author discusses an exercise she uses requiring students to view a popular film that portrays a particular mental disorder or a character with a mental disorder. Students analyze the film and write two papers, one about the sociological model of mental illness and a second about possible links between media images and the…

The article deals with the problem of why many students enrolling in correspondence study do not complete the course. In the one-semester-hour courses nearly 13% of students did not submit even one lesson. The figures for the two- and three-hour courses were both over 20%. In the four-hour courses, nearly 32% do not submit the first lesson. A…

A mock-heroic poem as a writing assignment, after a study of Pope. One student's response is included. (AA)

Argues that the perennial problem of boring student writing is solved when assignments provide writers with target readers, enabling students to find their appropriate voice. Discusses a sample assignment in which students explain how to do something they do well to readers who don't know how to do it. (JG)

This study builds on a recent national survey that determined the current status and future trends associated with distance learning in postsecondary career and technical education (Johnson, et al., 2003). The primary goal of this study was to explore, in detail, the effectiveness of distance learning via the Internet as a strategy for providing…

The stories of how educators become readers can lead to insights in the teaching process as well as providing enlightenment as to individual identity. One educator has found that writing his autobiography as a reader leads to valuable insights concerning the reading process. The insights gained through writing an autobiography, titled "My…

Circa 1984 early practitioners in the composition field imagined a potential blossoming of early efforts in computers and writing that subsequent developments in the field have lost sight of. The expense of developing personal programs, the emergence of word processing software that incorporated many of the mechanical aspects of spelling and style…

Schools across the country are struggling with how to group students for instruction. Ability grouping is a divisive issue among parents, teachers, and policymakers. Members of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform have struggled with the many nuances of ability grouping and have come to consensus on this statement of policy,…