The current study investigated adolescents' (N = 213) decision finding processes and affective reactions to interactions on social media "via" 29 focus groups. As part of a larger study, adolescents participated in focus groups at two time-points across an academic year while participating in a school-based intervention promoting healthy…

The purpose of this action research study was to investigate and improve the school choice experience for students in a large urban school district on the East Coast. Participants in Cycle 1 were comprised of middle and high school staff, and data was collected via surveys, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. Action steps included…

This article presents the work of two female students in a rural school who were assigned to respond to a Shakespearean text with a Digital Video (DV) project. The study shows how the teacher provided students appropriate time, mediation, and space in allowing them to bring their out-of-school literacies and interests within an academic context.…

A sense of audience is important in the development of student writing (Many & Henderson, 2005). Research shows students need to consider an audience's attitudes, beliefs, and expectations to be effective writers (Midgette, Haria, & MacArthur, 2007). Therefore, students need learning opportunities in L2 classrooms to develop this ability.…

For the duration of the author's fifteen-year career, she has used authentic writing opportunities to engage students. She begins as their teammate, and invites each student to work with her on a poem. In working collaboratively, students realize the author is there not to downgrade their piece, to chastise mistakes or to belittle errors; she is…

In a rapidly changing world, it is more important than ever for learners of all ages to develop the skills and experiences necessary to succeed in high-wage, high-skilled and high-demand careers of their choosing. Career Technical Education (CTE) is working with every state to help learners succeed, while also providing employers with skilled and…

The authors examined how high school seniors conceptualized the task of writing college admissions essays, the audience for that writing, and themselves as potentially college-worthy writers. In a survey and related interviews, students revealed more emphasis on generic good writing than on the narrative argument genre that college admissions…

Revisions in writing aim at text improvement. Literature has shown that revision activity differs between novice and experienced writers. Our ultimate goal is to understand how children and adolescents develop the capacity to shift perspectives from language producer to language recipient -- a prerequisite ability to successful revision. In this…

In this article, the authors reflect on their experiences of integrating visual arts, specifically painting, into an English language arts curriculum. Although each of them had previously used art as a response to literature with our students, neither of them had before collaborated with professional artists or been as intentional about…

The recently adopted TEKS for English I-IV that will be implemented in 2020-2021 require students to write for a variety of purposes and audiences, to practice the writing process, and to engage in reflective writing. These standards can be difficult to meet when literacy instruction is confined to classroom borders, where students often write…

Research about adolescents sharing creative writing in interest-driven online communities has suggested that teachers can play important roles in helping young writers realize the potential of online spaces. Framed by sociocultural notions of new literacies and a conceptual framework theorizing the rhetorical situation when sharing writing in…

One way to probe students' misconceptions about science during instruction is by using formative assessments. Described as assessments "for" learning rather than assessments "of" learning (Black and Wiliam 1998), they provide teachers with information about student understanding during instruction. Examples of formative…

The present study examined how writing tasks in high school English textbooks under the revised national curriculum reflected the key writing elements (process, genre, and context) of process-genre based approach. Concerning the latter, the focus was narrowed to audience since it was relatively neglected in writing instruction compared with other…

Student voice is a difficult concept to capture in research. This study attempts to provide a vehicle for understanding student perceptions about writing and writing instruction through a case study supported by discourse analysis of student talk. The high school students in this study participated in interviews and focus groups about their…

A study of former participants in high and middle school playwriting programs investigated students' perceptions of their experiences. After 20+ years of partnerships in a wide range of schools, Washington D.C.'s Young Playwrights' Theater examined how and why playwriting works and for whom. How does the form and process of writing plays motivate…