Using multiple baseline designs, we studied the effects of having seven 9th graders edit their papers until a naive reader accomplished a drawing assignment during writer immersion (communication in writing only). During Experiment I, students received no feedback in the first phase, teacher editing feedback in phase 2, and writer immersion plus…

Extra classes are increasingly observed in both developed and developing countries. In Vietnam, a country where education reforms are at their height, extra classes are proliferating and have become a concern to society and the government. Although the government has banned extra classes that are independent of school administration, teachers…

Undergraduate biology curricula are being modified to model and teach the activities of scientists better. The assignment described here, one that investigates protein structure and function, was designed for use in a sophomore-level cell physiology course at Earlham College. Students work in small groups to read and present in poster format on…

Estimates indicate that as much as 80% of an engineer's work time is spent on communicating. Studies done by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Arizona show that engineering firms, as well as ECE graduates, rank writing ability as the most important skill in determining engineers' success, even above…

Argument, debate, discussion, disagreement--most teachers would agree that these skills fall well within their students' repertoire. Students are frequently energized and excited by arguments and will voluntarily elaborate on and defend their ideas. Yet put these same students to the task of writing a persuasive essay and much of that eloquence is…

Teachers yearn for better writing skills from students. One way to achieve that goal is through a writing center, whether for basic writers or for the Harvard-bound student. But just because there is a writing center does not mean teachers are necessarily pleased with it. Center directors need time to talk to teachers about the center, make them…

Employers consistently rank communication skills, in particular writing ability, among the most important skills for undergraduate business students to possess. However, improving writing skills, especially with respect to punctuation, grammar, and word choice, often requires substantial teacher time and effort. To assess and improve student…

The power of culture to shape gender identities becomes particularly crucial for adolescents as they make the transition from child to adult. Yet as adults we offer little coherent, direct instruction in such matters. The author advocates supporting girls as they explore complex and empowering literacy practices, particularly online.

The integration of socially responsible online citizenship into the pedagogical practices in the elementary classroom is challenging, but necessary. Online activities, such as writing letters to political leaders or communicating with an expert on a community issue, offer students the opportunity to improve their writing skills while advancing…

A within-subject pretest-posttest comparison design was used to explore the effectiveness of a planning and writing intervention in improving the argumentative writing performance of five fourth-grade students with learning disabilities. Students were taught to collaboratively plan and revise their essays and independently write their essays using…

An undergraduate research mentoring program (URMP), initiated at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, was developed (1) to aid undergraduate wildlife students in the design, conduct, and analysis of original research projects; and (2) to encourage students to become effective written and oral communicators by preparing a manuscript of their…

A number of studies have examined the process and product of writing instruction under different conditions. Fewer studies have investigated the development of knowledge and its relationship to writing performance. While some writers may be able to draw upon knowledge of text in their writing, others do not possess this knowledge and yet others…

This book provides practical strategies and tools for assessing and teaching even the most hard to reach English language learners across the content areas. Syrja offers educators the latest information on working with ELLs (including using formative assessments) and provides a wealth of classroom-tested models and measures. These tools have…

The purpose of this program is to determine how to teach the four major language skills, reading, writing, listening and speaking, in an Apple Macintosh classroom environment for high school students who are non-native speakers of English. The syllabus for the course, designed for higher-intermediate students with a basic background in English…

Three chapters discuss language usage in the classroom: "Language in the Classroom" (Jack Thomson); "Directions for Research into Classroom Communication" (Douglas Barnes); and "Teachers' Attitudes to Usage" (Ken Watson). The first article discusses how students view their classroom, with actual examples from a newspaper survey. Various teaching…