The idea that "the personal is political" is both a commonplace in composition studies and something many have not yet fully theorized. The literature on personal writing tends to explore the relationship of the personal to academic discourse and the ethics and problems of intruding into students' lives. Because of this emphasis on the individual,…

As an elementary reading specialist, Lynn Mondello Caggiano, the author of this article, often worked with students who struggled with reading and other language tasks, including writing. After working with a group of students for whom written expression was particularly difficult, Caggiano came up with the plan of having the students draw their…

Two projects, the reaction notebook and the end-of-semester synthesis activity are described which could help students to adopt a discovery-based learning and engage students in practical applications of chemistry. Students have provided positive feedback on this classroom assignment and have felt that it has helped them crystallize their thought…

In this article, the author, a Web development librarian at North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries, recounts how she initiated the implementation of a series of open source communication and collaboration applications for the Libraries' Web site and intranet, and how she gathered a number of tried and tested C&C tools that can…

Practice-as-inquiry refers to the blending of instructional practice with systematic curricular inquiry. College and university teachers, while experts in their disciplines, typically are not specialists in instructional practice. Practice-as-inquiry (also referred to as teacher-as-researcher) may function as a mechanism of continuous teaching…

A considerable amount of current research on teaching and teacher education focuses on teacher collaboration. Teacher collaboration is presumed to be a powerful learning environment for teachers' professional development. However, empirical research about how teachers actually learn in collaborative settings is lacking. In this study, learning…

This study investigated the impact of a project-based graduate practicum experience that was facilitated online. The study investigated the effects of the online practicum experience by: (a) using quantitative data to assess the learning and professional growth of the practicum participants in comparison to a group of teachers that did not…

A study examined caring attitudes in nursing students, specifically how students ranked characteristics of caring behavior, how the reading of personal narratives and literary works dealing with caring influenced caring behavior, and, how keeping a personal journal influenced caring behavior. Subjects were nine students in a seminar entitled…

This document consists of the four issues of this newsletter issued for Volume XI. The Fall 1993 issue contains an article on talk time role playing, language evaluation activities (dictation, writing, and speaking exercises), and the outline of a cultural awareness session. A special unnumbered "Bibliography Issue", also dated Fall 1993, includes…

Creating meaningful links between home and school is a particular concern of teachers and families. As classroom teachers, Betty Shockley and Barbara Michalove heard their students talk often about home literacy events. They wanted to find a way to learn what families valued and practiced, and they wanted to communicate to families how their…

This survey of literature discusses the content and research methodology of 25 articles on creative writing written since 1988. It is divided into sections covering articles discussing (1) definitions of creativity; (2) theoretical aspects of teaching creative writing; (3) specific teaching methods; (4) journal writing to discuss literature; and…

The early childhood education program at Massachusetts' Middlesex Community College has included a service learning component for the past 3 years. Service learning participants have the opportunity to observe several different public and private early care and education programs in the community and to discuss the programs with other students.…

Part of a series of books written and illustrated by the students of Northland School Division, Alberta, Canada, this anthology of elementary school student writing honors the spirit and authentic voice of young people. The writing selections in the book are made accessible to educators so that a bridge of understanding can continue to be built…

Recognizing the importance of student journal writing for language exploration and experimentation, this project examined the impact of introducing student/teacher dialogues as part of the journal format for kindergartners. In the fall of the academic year, journal writing was introduced, and students wrote in journals every day. The teacher's…

A technique called the "do now" illustrates how it is not the method, but the purpose, that creates effective teaching techniques. Beginning the first activity of a freshman composition class with moments of silent reflection, or "do now," includes brief instructions to students to respond to whatever word or phrase the…