Most methods of literary analysis operate at so high a level of abstraction that the basic meaning is obscured. In the classroom the temptation is to ignore the physical text and to focus attention and discussion on secondary issues which arise out of the text. A distinction needs to be made between reading literature and interpreting or analyzing…

As part of the "Educating Gifted and Talented" series, the booklet offers guidelines for teaching English to gifted students. Following an introduction and a section on characteristics of the gifted in English, procedures for identifying students gifted in English are discussed and a list of questions to ask when observing language behavior is…

Presented is the initial volume of a three-volume report detailing the evaluation of the National Science Foundation Comprehensive Assistance to Undergraduate Science Education (CAUSE) program, a program developed to encourage the improvement in quality and effectiveness of undergraduate science education in institutions of higher education.…

In spite of the many difficulties and limitations faced by a college English professor who chose to teach literature to prisoners, this paper reports that he was able to remain enthusiastic about the effort. While noting that the prisoners were not interested in literary form or theme, the paper describes how they were able to respond powerfully…

This paper offers a model to be followed by students completing a writing assignment. The model, designed originally for writing students at two-year colleges, prescribes the number of paragraphs and the content of each paragraph. Suggested topic assignments are offered, and an example of the use of the model is provided. Four steps are proposed…

To mimic as closely as possible successful classroom procedures, NCTE convention speakers should be assigned topics one hour before their sessions, with only the rhetorical form specified. The audience should shout evaluative comments during presentation and the recorder should interrupt at each spelling and punctuation error. A final grade should…

Prewriting exercises such as outlines, successive drafts, or free writing are not helpful to students from oral cultures who are unfamiliar with the writing process. Speaking as a rehearsal technique for writing can help nontraditional students formulate and organize ideas before starting the first draft. Speaking as a rehearsal for writing…

The seven articles in this journal issue focus on the teaching of writing beyond the required college freshman composition courses. The articles provide the following: (1) a discussion of ways to teach transferable and local writing skills, (2) arguments for and against the use of tape-recorded comments rather than written comments to respond to…

Competition in sport and physical education programs has been used to motivate the learning of skills, increase physical fitness, and to create environments purportedly conducive to the development of desirable personality qualities. However, the way in which competition is conceptualized is of great importance. In direct competition, achievement…

The Vocational Assessment of Special Needs Individuals Project originated with the regional vocational schools and educational collaboratives of the Assabet and Blackstone Valleys cooperating to determine a meaningful process through which vocational assessment information could be collected, organized, and used in formulating a basis for…

A research project was conducted at five Missouri correctional facilities to demonstrate the components that lead to a successful educational project. Objectives included using Adult Performance Level (APL) materials; establishing an inmate classification and referral system; and disseminating this information nationwide among correctional…

This is the first volume of a report describing the results of a three-year evaluation study of the Right to Read Special Emphasis Project, which was undertaken to determine if intensive programs of reading instruction introduced at an early age could change patterns of reading achievement in schools where large numbers of students read one or…

A focus on letter writing in composition classes can eliminate the problem of writing to the teacher as audience, as well as function as a strategy for teaching the elements of rhetoric. Letters in the context of the rhetorical process have historical precedent. In the Middle Ages, because of the necessity for official and ceremonious letters,…

This report describes and evaluates the community school program in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) during the period of September, 1978 through December, 1979. In addition to documenting two community schools funded by a federal grant, the report also describes three other community school programs in MDUSD funded by adult…

Three principal uses of composite variables in the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System (TIERS) are examined in light of four basic methodological issues: (1) the criterion used in constructing the composite; (2) the likely reliability of both component and criterion variables; (3) the form of the relationship between components and criterion;…