This study aims at providing a comprehensive account of the types of errors produced by Saudi EFL students enrolled in the preparatory year programe in their use of articles, based on the Surface Structure Taxonomies (SST) of errors. The study describes the types, frequency and sources of the definite and indefinite article errors in writing…

This article explores the learning experiences of two students in the same college-level English course at Urban Serving Community College (USCC) (pseudonym). The objective was to understand how one student met with success and the other failure despite both successfully completing their developmental English course the semester prior. I observed…

Fernald developed the Monte Carlo Quiz format to enhance retention, encourage students to prepare for class, read with intention, and organize information in psychology classes. This author modified the Monte Carlo Quiz, combined it with the Minute Paper, and applied it to various courses. Students write quiz questions as part of the Minute Paper…

As is known, reading is a skill the individual faces throughout his/her life. Reading, which is also one of the four basic language skills, allows an individual to establish a connection with life. So that, self-improvement of the individual, the process of understanding and interpreting what is happening around him/her, expressing himself/herself…

This study investigated the effects of reflective writing on student writing self-efficacy and on the quality of the final research-based essay. Subjects were 110 students enrolled in a freshman 101 Honors English class in a public high school in northern Illinois. Students in the control and experimental groups wrote two essays requiring the…

As schools work to meet the ambitious Common Core State Standards in writing in the US, instructional approaches are likely to be examined (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). However, there is little research on the current state of instruction. This study was designed to…

The purpose of the present study is to explore to what extent the use of a more structured mode of assessing creative products--specifically, the CPAM--could beneficially influence design students' product creativity and creative processes. For this qualitative inquiry, following our CPAM-based intervention, students wrote reflective papers in…

One of the more heated and consequential debates in teacher education today concerns the instructional methods used in preparation programs and the knowledge and skills that teacher candidates should acquire. In this study, I examine looking at learning as a pedagogical approach to transition teacher candidates from the technical conceptions of…

First-year courses prepare students for the transition to, and success in, college. Institutions are interested in assessing student learning outcomes to achieve institutional goals and maintain accreditation. Though it may be difficult to measure student learning and success, colleges aim to assess student learning in the classroom by setting…

Plagiarism is an unfortunate but often inevitable byproduct of human discourse. It may have begun with one enviable cave drawing being copied onto another cave wall--without attribution. Ironically, and probably just as inevitably, the modern classroom serves as a kind of breeding ground or incubator for this ancient, murky form of theft. A 2011…

To be efficient and satisfied in his/her profession, a teacher needs to realize adequately his/her strengths and weaknesses. To support development of self-reflective skills by future teachers, students at Department of Economic Teaching Methodology at University of Economics in Prague were asked to write an essay called 'Why am I supposed to be a…

Peer learning is often used in classrooms to help and support knowledge and skill acquisition. One form of peer learning, peer assessment, involves the quantitative (i.e., peer ratings) or qualitative (i.e., peer feedback) evaluation of a learner's performance by another learner among students. While we might be concerned about the quality of the…

As schools work to meet the ambitious Common Core State Standards in writing (Common Core State Standards Initiation, 2010), instructional approaches are likely to be examined. However, there is little research that describes the current state of instruction. This study was designed to expand the empirical base on writing instruction in first…

Successful implementation of academic standards depends on teachers' understanding of the intended policy and their interpretation of what the policy means for their instruction (Spillane et al., 2002). This study examines the writing tasks fourth- and fifth- grade teachers understand as being aligned with the CCSS [Common Core State Standards],…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Practice Guide, "Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively," offers educators three specific, evidence-based recommendations that address the challenges of teaching students in grades 6-12 to write effectively. This summary focuses on the third of the three recommendations: Use assessments of…