Little research has discussed how writing center tutors can help postsecondary students develop skill in reading. Via individual interviews, this investigator collected data from eleven writing center tutors at a large urban public university. Analysis of this data suggests that while nearly all of the tutors lacked specific knowledge of how…

This issue of "Journal for Learning the Arts: A Research Journal on Arts Integration in Schools and Communities" embodies the range of arts and learning possible in our schools and communities. The articles reflect the diverse landscape of arts education, including dance, poetry, visual arts, drama, music and media. Each author takes to…

Seldom do the needs of children with disabilities divide neatly along program lines. Instead, children and their families navigate a large, complex, and fragmented array of programs with inconsistent eligibility standards, application procedures, and program goals. "Meeting the Needs of Children with Disabilities" examines these programs, focusing…

Grading, feedback, and reporting of student achievement are key elements that support learning. This article reports an interview study on a range of English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) teachers' classroom assessment practices at the tertiary level in Canada, Hong Kong, and China. The interviews focused on teachers' use of marking…

Pastoral care embodies the idea that schools should not limit their activities to the transmission of knowledge but should educate the whole child. This paper outlines five "pastoral tasks", casework, preventive work, pastoral curriculum, community building and management, and considers how each might contribute to the five desired…

The term "visual culture" includes all manifestations of cultural life that are significantly expressed through visual aspects and interpreted through individual and shared experiences. Visual culture includes art, cultural practices, media images, and other forms. However, teaching visual culture involves more than extending the range of visual…

The federal journey into public education has followed a long and winding road. Most educators know that the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is simply the latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which dates all the way back to 1965. In the years since its initial passage, the ESEA road has taken a number of…

Delineated in easy-to-follow nontechnical language, this book provides a multitude of tested informal assessment strategies and devices, such as "kid watching," retellings, journals, informal reading inventories, writing surveys, portfolios, and think alouds. The book presents more than 200 reproducible assessment devices. The book helps…

Based on the premise that viewing the curriculum holistically enriches the instructional practices of teachers and adds depth and meaning to children's school experiences, this guide is intended to: (1) encourage teachers who have doubts about using literature in their content area classes; (2) support those presently using literature to teach;…

Some students do not "take to" computers as a learning tool. Reasons for this include inappropriate software; use of the same software for all students rather than accommodation of different interests, needs, and learning styles; and various handicaps (both physical and mental). For example, many students prefer a holistic approach;…

This paper reports from an observant participant's point of view on a theme study conducted in a fifth-grade classroom at a laboratory elementary school of a small, private liberal arts college in Georgia. The "Theme Study" is a student-centered approach that "emphasizes a coherent and holistic approach to learning through the study…

During the early 1990s, the concept of "full-service schools" has gained momentum in educational and social reform movements as an effective vehicle for providing integrated, comprehensive, and intensive services to at-risk children, youth, and families. The essential feature of full-service schools is to provide a system that connects…

Offering instructional strategies in an informal, easy-to-read, yet scholarly approach, this book presents instructional strategies and activities for children who are having difficulty learning to read. In contrast to other books that offer highly analytic and prescriptive approaches, the activities in the book are arranged around general areas…

Administrators have many methods at their disposal to use in the struggle to control truancy. This paper describes the kinds of truancy-reduction efforts most commonly used: stringent laws and regulations (such as parental sanctions, zero credit, suspensions, and police intervention), inschool programs (the school-climate-improvement and the…

This guide to academic achievement in courses that require problem solving shows the student how to see things as the teacher sees them. The student who sees with the professor's eyes can cut through the useless and irrelevant activities that interfere with real achievement. The approach, which requires that the student do all required work, is…