The "problem-posing" education model of Paulo Freire takes as its departure point the life experience of the learner, rather than the teacher's knowledge. Ursuline College (Cleveland, Ohio) created several courses for returning adult students that were based on Freire's ideas. One course called "Humanities Focus on Life" is for…

Resulting from a Sacramento City College (SCC) project to improve teaching and learning by directly involving faculty in research to measure student learning outcomes, this document contains reports by seven SCC faculty members on their own classroom-based research projects. "Skills-Intervention Instruction," by Linda Briggs, describes a study…

This paper presents future directions for vocational education teachers and administrators in an effort to assist them in updating and revising their instructional programs. The paper begins with a synopsis of the history of vocational education and proceeds to visions of the future. An attachment defines good teaching (as perceived by Marshall…

A pilot project was developed at Indiana University Southeast to help teacher education students learn ways to put current educational theories and strategies to work in a school setting. The project was based on the idea that the language arts--listening, reading, writing, and speaking--should be integrated and that many subject areas could be…

Deaf children come from all races, classes, and backgrounds, but as a group they have a hard time learning to read and write. The more hearing a child has, the better the child performs on tests of reading ability. Parents who can communicate well with their deaf children help them to perform well at school, but beyond "good"…

This book of instructional activities for grades seven through eight contains Delaware's State Content Standards for English Language Arts. The standards were developed in 1985 by a committee of teachers representing all grade levels. Used as a basis for curriculum planning in school districts throughout Delaware, the standards were designed to…

Noting that two-year college students view writing instruction with suspicion because they do not perceive a tangible link between developing writing skills and their post-graduate activities, a survey was conducted to distinguish between the functions and forms of graduates' writing and to explore writing performed in contexts other than work.…

A compilation of program ideas and related newspaper articles, cartoons, and visual aids, this booklet describes the objectives and procedure for the implementation of a pilot program at Frank W. Cox High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia, that emphasizes ethics education and the value of writing as a means to promote critical thinking. The first…

An inservice program was developed for elementary school teachers who requested help because of their students' apparent lack of written language abilities. Preliminary planning, involving the teachers (trainees) working with a trainer, determined a way in which student learning needs could be related to teacher training needs. The inservice…

Many essayists on writing believe that a student's level of cognitive development determines the organization of thought expressed by the student's writing and that an individual cannot use language at a level that goes beyond his or her stage of cognitive development. Without the maturation of formal operational structures, students cannot easily…

One of a series in reading, writing, and mathematics intended to acquaint teachers with the skills tested in each content area on the New Jersey High School Proficiency Test, this booklet on writing presents material that can be used in lesson planning, skills review, and practice testing. Following a report of the writing committee convened to…

This study investigated the effects of heuristically based assignments and tests on adolescents' written responses to literature. In order to examine both tests and instruction, two separate but related experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 investigated whether the inclusion of guided prewriting on essay tests for two poems and two short…

A second grade teacher's use of storytelling to teach English language skills to both native speakers and learners of English as a second language (ESL) is described. The technique combines the concept of comprehensible input, the importance of stories and storytelling to children, and a commitment to teaching writing skills. Early in the day, all…

The Prefreshman Summer Program for academically and economically handicapped students at the City University of New York (CUNY) was evaluated in 1985 and compared to previous evaluations. The voluntary, 6-week transitional program provides intensive basic skills instruction, tutoring, counseling, and financial aid to incoming students who fail to…

Secondary and postsecondary students can be taught writing skills using a step-by-step examination of a television news or documentary program that can be undertaken in a single class period. The procedure consists of a series of strategies to facilitate the instructional process, as follows: (1) as a warm-up mechanism, the teacher introduces the…