Just as student centered, collaborative classrooms give students the power to direct their own learning, so too a collaborative, partnership model for the writing staff leads to empowerment and professionalism. At Western Illinois University, involving temporary instructors in the process of curriculum development not only served to boost their…

"Lifewriting" provides a different model for the school composition class, a model that changes the traditional images of the student and teacher at work. Lifewriting--the composing of personal stories, anecdotes, and memoirs--has a beneficial effect in that while it begins with personal expression, the dynamics of the lifewriting group…

Electronic technology and high-speed communications are no longer simply aids to collaborative working. In this information era, information that is speedy, accurate and in a form that enables people to make decisions and work productively together across geographical distances is the key to cost-effective efficient collaboration. This paper looks…

This report describes a program for increasing motivation in writing that will enhance students' skills at a variety of grade levels. The targeted population consisted of first, second, and third grade classes as well as ninth through twelfth grade Learning Disabled students in a Midwestern state. The evidence of lack of motivation was documented…

Examines the role of play as a composing strategy for the development of children's writing abilities. Finds that boys use play more extensively than girls, and that boys balance their use of play and marked control (gisting and evaluating) while girls rely on a marked control strategy more than on play. (KEH)

This case study describes use of apprenticeship opportunities in a collaborative writing context with two primary grade students with multiple disabilities in an inclusive setting. Analysis of written work and verbal interactions revealed the collaborative peer approach fostered active and constructive participation by both students. (Contains…

Describes the use of peer grouping and the puzzle-solving format of a popular television game show to help students explore literary themes and compose a paper. (HTH)

Discusses large-scale electronic networks, scholarly communication, and collaborative research, and describes a study that investigated a process of identifying authors important to information transfer within a scholarly network of collaborating authors. Empirical measures of productivity, grantsmanship, impact, and influence are described, and…

Discusses the use of computers in qualitative research, including sources of information; collaboration; electronic discussion groups; Web sites; Internet search engines; electronic sources of data; data collection; communicating research results; desktop publishing; hypermedia and multimedia documents; electronic publishing; holistic and…

Digital media has become an increasingly powerful force in modern society. This volume brings together outstanding European, American and Australian research in "writing and digital media" and explores its cognitive, social and cultural implications. In addition to presenting programs of original research by internationally known…

The "Educational Media and Technology Yearbook" is dedicated to theoretical, empirical and practical approaches to educational media development. All chapters are invited and selected based on a variety of strategies to determine current trends and issues in the field. The 2009 edition will highlight innovative Trends and Issues in…

Surveying a project that was conducted through the Center for the Study of Writing at Carnegie Mellon University, this book details the classroom inquiries conducted during the 4-year project (1988-1992) by 33 teacher-researchers from secondary and postsecondary classrooms. The articles and their authors are: (1) "Teachers as Theory…

A study examined the behavior of first graders as they collaborated on a writing exercise using a word processor. Data were collected over three weeks in the form of fieldnotes and 13.5 hours of videotape of students working at the computer. Videotapes were examined to locate patterns of discourse and physical actions, and by abstracting from the…

A study was conducted to investigate oral language used in fourth- and fifth-grade student dyads in a collaborative writing setting in order to understand better how children learn to write. The study was based on a theoretical framework that emphasized the interrelatedness of thought, language, and learning. Following a pilot study, students in…

This book is the product of a collaborative partnership between the two authors to develop a year-long literary/literacy program for first grade children based on bridging learning in the library and the classroom. Some of the objectives of the program described in the book are: to provide opportunities for children to experience personal…