In conjunction with the New Mexico State Department of Education's Writing Appraisal Program for high school students, a project was designed whose central goal was to identify and clearly delineate writing competencies for students in the younger grades. A pilot project first collected student writing samples and descriptive data from third and…

As part of a study examining articles on composition at five-year intervals from 1971 through 1987 to explore the evolution of composition knowledge, a study examined articles published in "College Composition and Communication" (CCC) and "College English" (CE) during 1971-72 and 1976-77. A citation list was created by noting…

To show how whole language theory can be put into practice, this collection of articles, many written by practicing teachers, suggest ways that teachers can help students become active participants in their own learning. Following an introduction, chapters and their authors consist of: (1) "Insights from Recent Reading and Writing Research…

The Teacher Education and Learning to Teach Study of the National Center for Research on Teacher Education combines case studies of teacher education programs with longitudinal studies of teacher learning. In this paper, the development of the theoretical framework on which instrumentation for the longitudinal study is based is discussed.…

Unlike trends in reading and writing instruction which are shortlived, such as speed reading, performance contracting, and the i.t.a. (initial teaching alphabet), certain influences exist which contribute to lasting improvements in reading and writing. Several factors can help to distinguish trends from the more permanent influences on education.…

The 30 conference papers contained in this yearbook are as follows: "Assessment, Accountability, and Professional Prerogative" (P. D. Pearson and S. Valencia); "Cloze Procedure and the Sequence of Text" (A. G. Gamarra and J. Jonz); "Factors Affecting Summary Writing and Their Impact on Reading Comprehension Assessment" (M. H. Head and R. R. Buss);…

The study attempted to decrease the talking-out behavior and increase the pre-writing skills of a 7-year-old educable mentally retarded boy in a special school for children with orthopedic handicaps. Differential reinforcement of other (DRO) behaviors was used during 30 minutes a day four times a week. Appropriate behaviors of the subjects and…

A review was conducted of 16 research studies evaluating the effectiveness of computer assisted instruction (CAI) in teaching reading and language arts in the elementary school. The studies were of what K. A. Hall has termed "interactive instruction," which includes drill and practice as well as tutoring. Of the studies reviewed, 13 used at least…

Two individualized writing programs, useful for mainstreaming learning disabled students into the English classroom were field tested among 100 seventh and eighth grade students in four school districts. The document reports on the results of "Mission WRITE," the design of "Touchstone WRITE," and the strategies used in teaching…

Several ideas for implementing writing in the content areas are presented. The ideas, which were submitted by teachers and students, include: (1) a class called "Thinking-Writing" which uses freewriting, clustering, and written dialogue with an imaginary tutee; (2) a testimonial on the importance of knowing how to write in adult life;…

To communicate the writing instruction techniques they learned at the California Writing Project, 11 teachers organized a district writing resource team offering workshops and inservice sessions to other writing teachers in their district. Among the results of this subsequent Glendale Writing Project are a renewed enthusiasm and cooperation among…

A case is presented for a major overhaul in the language arts curriculum, based on the idea that traditional teaching methods, especially in reading and writing, that do not take into account children's natural tendency to make sense of their world and to base new learning on what they already know, are ineffective or even inhibitive of literacy…

Articles in this journal issue focus on computer applications for the English classroom. Following an introduction (Ken Davis), the seven articles discuss the following topics: (1) the computer as an administrative, instructional, and research aide for English teachers (Brian D. Monahan); (2) computer technology and the writing teacher (Sandra J.…

Using word processing in the elementary school writing curriculum is advantageous for both students and teachers. Word processors motivate students to spend more time on task, encourage changes and rewriting, and eliminate concern for neatness and the tedium of writing (and rewriting) by hand. Teachers can see that students using the word…

The William Perry model of learning is directly parallel to what has been learned about writing processes. He observed that the student is essentially a dualist who sees everything as right or wrong. This stance of absolute acceptance wavers when the student encounters varieties of or disagreements among truths, thus gradually evolving into the…