This study takes a fine-grained look at the inaugural implementation of a high-stakes teacher performance assessment (the edTPA) from multiple perspectives and chronicles how participants used the reading, writing, and discussion of poetry to cope with and sometimes critique the edTPA. Teacher researchers sought to understand multiple perspectives…

This qualitative study describes the development of hybrid teacher preparation programs that emerged as a result of a "forced" partnership between university-based and alternative teacher preparation programs in New York City. This hybrid experiment was a short-lived, yet innovative by-product of a somewhat pragmatic arrangement between…

Given what seems a constant barrage of criticism aimed at the academy from politicians and the public--and the great concern for buzz words like accountability and transparency--it has become fairly routine to see a defense of the humanities in opinion pieces in "Inside Higher Education," "The Chronicle of Higher Education,"…

Bob Kerrey's rocky tenure as president of the New School may seem a fading memory, but the recent disclosure that he earned $3-million from the institution last year could rekindle resentments on campus and raise questions about Mr. Kerrey's continuing and lucrative role at the college. Under fire from New School faculty over turnover in the…

This essay examines women's commencement addresses presented from 1910 to 1915 at Vassar College. These addresses are significant because they reveal the students' rhetorical education and the "available means" upon which these women drew in developing a public voice. By prompting reflection and the potential for change, the commencement…

This paper is designed to accompany an appearance by the author as a panelist during a session on science fiction and teaching methods at the I-CON 28 Science Fiction Convention held April 3-5, 2009, on Long Island (near New York City). The author describes how he employs social science fiction in an honors course at the university level to…

This collection of essays, "Literary Study, Measurement, and the Sublime: Disciplinary Assessment," edited by Donna Heiland and Laura J. Rosenthal, represents an important new venture in the Foundation's communication program. The book is the product of many authors, including the editors, both of whom have written essays for it. But it…

In this article, the authors provide an overview and critically analyze three successful faculty-developed urban K-12 science outreach programs. They consider a successful outreach program as one that has been sustained for at least five years after initial funding, and has provided empirically-based research findings from the program.…

This article draws on a survey of 64 self-identified multilingual faculty from across the disciplines who currently teach with writing in English at the undergraduate and graduate level. The survey asked faculty about their linguistic experiences from childhood through the present and thus offers insights about the complexity of multilingual…

College readiness is becoming an increasingly important standard by which to measure school success and student achievement. While high school graduation and dropout prevention remain critical issues for educators, there is a substantial gap in outcomes between students who only earn a high school diploma and those who go on to obtain a college…

Despite their apparent popularity among those seeking degrees and credentials, today's colleges and universities face several interrelated public criticisms and concerns. When these competing concerns about student success, productivity, cost, and educational effectiveness all collide at the campus level, they create an array of campus tensions…

It is essential to develop future teachers' views of diversity, as contemporary teachers teach large numbers of students who are not like them linguistically or culturally. Teacher educators are responsible for preparing preservice and inservice literacy teachers to be effective in these increasingly diverse classrooms. They should continue to…

In the report entitled "Educating School Leaders," Arthur Levine (2005) criticizes leadership preparation programs as "inadequate to appalling," citing, among other issues, the proliferation of off campus programming, the weakening of standards, and an unwillingness to engage in any measure of "systematic…

The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher education issues. This issue contains the following articles: (1) CUNY [City University of New York] Sheds Reputation as "Tutor U": The Nation's Largest Urban University Raises Standards, and Grapples with Remediation (Jon…