The Problem Statement (PS) section communicates the issue that targets a study. Having a clear understanding of its rhetorical moves facilitates its communication. However, undergraduate students are not generally worried about this important writing aspect. The purpose of this descriptive study intended to explore the rhetorical moves in…

Learning to compose texts adequate for different purposes is crucial for becoming literate. We examined developmental changes in the rhetorical structure of written texts produced by Spanish children throughout the early years of elementary school in the light of descriptive writing purposes. Children had also performed tasks to test…

Introductory-level laboratory courses provide students with hands-on experience using the discipline's tools and theories. These courses often rely on recipe-based experiments due to the constraints of large enrollments, short lab periods, and the desire to minimize complexity. In addition, covering a breadth of topics can lead to a fragmented…

This study explores the pedagogical effectiveness of assignments developed for a first-year composition course to encourage reflexive reading habits that can aid students in the writing process. Students in this course were asked to articulate the connections they found between multimodal texts of their own choosing and texts assigned by their…

Lifelong learning has emerged as an important learning outcome across the Canadian post-secondary education system. However, assessments of lifelong learning have been limited to students' self-reports, particularly questionnaires. In programs that offer work-integrated learning experiences, students' reflections may provide a window to further…

This paper describes a pilot blended learning format for a first-year genre-based Canadian composition course. It measures responses to the online learning materials and hybrid class schedule by comparing student writing skill perception questionnaires, teaching evaluation questionnaires, and written assignments for control and experimental…

This paper describes a unit designed to promote the development of narrative writing skills among 5th grade students through the use of LEGO robotics. Over the course of four, two and one-half hour sessions (one day per week for four consecutive weeks), the students learned how to construct and program robots, write and present a proposal to…

This application brief covers, "The Final Question," an alternative essay design that encourages the learner to think creatively in Ph.D. Organization Theory or Leadership courses. "The Final Question" asks, "Do leaders change organizations or do organizations change leaders?" It is a simple question, but only the…

University educators everywhere are trying to assist students in improving their ability to write clear and correct business English. Business communication texts, in general, use several decades of research that have established a three-stage process: prewriting, writing, and rewriting (Collins & Parkhurst, 1996). Identifying and correcting…

As recent scholarship emphasizes the value of social learning, this article describes a course redesign that sought to encourage such social learning. This multi-year course redesign includes altering a daily writing assignment to make it more specific and to make it a contribution to the learning of a study group. Data was collected and evaluated…

Problem solving and critical thinking are buzzwords used in defining general chemistry learning goals. Assessments including well-structured homework, quizzes, and exams are designed and incorporated to build these skills. Our research expanded upon the types of assessments and analyzed the effect of writing assignments for promoting problem…

Epideictic rhetoric reifies and reshapes the shared values of a community, and in this article, I reread William E. Coles Jr.'s "The Plural I" as showing forth a classroom built upon epideictic rhetoric, his own epideictic pedagogy asking that teachers of writing engage student work not expecting to be persuaded but as observers of…

This mixed methods study examines the impact of online professional development on preschool teachers' self-efficacy, burnout, and stress. Participating teachers (n = 89) were randomly assigned into four groups: one of three treatment conditions (course-only, conference, reflective writing) or a control group. All treatment conditions received a…

This article argues that writing teachers should allow, and even encourage, students to code-mesh in community college classrooms. By looking at and analyzing code-meshed writing produced by three students in an English 101 class, the author argues that code-meshing provides students with both a craft-wise approach to writing and a way to address…

This article explores the potential of Brecht's theater praxis for teaching millennial students to question dramatic narratives and rethink their own spectatorial positions, especially in regards to mainstream cinema that emphasizes character identification and plot. The article reflects on a five-day teaching unit on Brecht's theater in a senior…