Describes the efforts of San Antonio College's, in Texas, High School Journalism Workshop for Minorities, a two-week "boot camp" designed to prepare students of color for careers in print journalism. Discusses sources of funding, the development of the program, and several participants' experiences in the workshop. (MAB)

No differences in the development of reading and spelling were found between 103 Norwegian children learning print-script as their initial handwriting style and 104 Norwegian students who learned disjointed cursive letters initially. The longitudinal study extended from first to fifth grade. (SLD)

Argues for the importance of distinct discourse communities, and the importance of a theory and pedagogy that recognizes common practices, common goals, and common values among discourse communities. Analyzes professional samples of scholarship and sample student papers. Suggests that the transaction between writer and reader lies at the heart of…

Reflects on a former college instructor's student teaching experience in middle school and how he had to adapt his own teaching preferences and inclinations to a new circumstance. Critiques pre-service teacher education programs. (TB)

Presents an address by the chairman of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, which reflects on the changing state of composition teaching and how it compares to the 1960s, an era when many composition teachers came of age with the discipline of composition and rhetoric. (TB)

Notes that writing narrative stories about students' own lives has been shown to help children develop personal, social, and cultural connections. Explains a project in which second graders expanded their knowledge of their community and deepened their understanding of the reading and writing process. Describes the process in which the students…

Argues that both personal and text-based essays should be used in teaching writing to students in developmental composition courses. Suggests that combining the two approaches and using short fiction or fictive autobiographies as course readings helps to initiate the student's transition from personal to text-based writing. (Contains 21…

Examined fourth grade teachers' self-assessments of their perceptions about writing development and writing instruction. Teacher surveys indicated that teachers revealed a wide range of statements about writing instruction with fluctuating perspectives about how writing develops. There was evidence that the state curriculum and writing test…

Argues for abundant classroom talk in helping students to shape their writing so that it accomplishes the desired academic and social purposes. Describes four eighth-grade students' informal talk during writing classes and how it supported and influenced the students' writing. Concludes by identifying ways in which teachers might work with…

Compares writing products of first graders who were taught to write using a structured approach (including phonemic awareness and phonics training) to the products of students taught using a holistic approach. Finds that children in the structured program wrote more words, wrote better overall compositions, and spelled more words and different…

Offers a rationale for applying the principle of nonjudgmental awareness to the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing class. Presents data demonstrating that a nonjudgmental, expression-oriented approach to ESL writing results in higher student pass rates than does a judgmental, error-oriented approach. (TB)

Describes how a computerized environment supplemented traditional undergraduate courses in English literature and composition at the University of Florida, and was developed with a grant from IBM. Highlights include the use of MOO (multi-user, object-oriented) space; student assignments; the client-server setting; and student and teacher…

Shares details about two prewriting strategies (brainstorming and synthesizing information), and discusses some practical issues related to the use of computer-based concept mapping in the classroom. (SR)

Argues that, in second-language instruction, reading and writing assignments must be linked to introduce learners to the kind of writing they will be expected to do in literature and culture courses. Examines the content of second-language composition classes in this light, particularly as they concern English-as-a-Second-Language writing…

Tells a story that shows how a pedagogy based on a naive vision of care, one in which both collaborators are to treat each other with reciprocal integrity and compassion, can go awry. Offers three precautions that writing teachers can enact toward a more responsible pedagogy of collaboration. (TB)