One interesting aspect of teaching students to use PowerPoint and similar graphics packages effectively is that graduate students who are already in the workforce often have bad presentation habits that they need to break. In this article, the author discusses ways of breaking these bad habits. Using storyboards is one way to keep students from…

This paper describes an experimental exploration of special procedures used in a game-like online expository writing experience that was designed to help preservice language arts teachers develop descriptive writing skills. Participants were asked to describe a target picture within a picture set to their cohorts in an online discussion in order…

A team of faculty from both Stark State College of Technology (SSCT) and the Canton City Schools (CCS) reviewed their respective curricula opposite the Ohio Academic Content Standards, assisted by a crosswalk indicating which of those standards were measured by COMPASS/ESL a widely used college placement test. This study found that the skills…

What can we realistically expect teacher educators to do with technology, given the contexts in which they find themselves, the skills that they bring to their contexts, and the changes that they would need to make? We attempt to answer this question through three self-studies as we integrated technology into methods courses and student teaching…

American schools have debated the merits of a national canon since the inception of English as a subject a century ago. In earlier years, the mission of the language arts was much more elitist and hierarchical. English was a subject that taught the great works, so that aspiring students could be familiar with the standard pantheon of authors and…

Although he may not have spoken quite as eloquently as the Bard of Avon, Ernie Page, the author's methods instructor at Penn State, once said that teaching English was less a subject and more a predicament. He was alluding to the many complexities and range of subject matter that constitute teaching the English language arts. In the 30 years since…

This article is a summary of our working group's continued discourse from the Conference on English Education (CEE) Summit, where our discussions focused on English teacher candidate competencies, program assessment, the Standards and Guidelines, and National Council of Teachers of English's (NCTE's) roles and responsibilities. For the purpose of…

There is often a resistance to verbal language in the nonverbal arts. Within educational establishments, language does not simply serve the art work or its making; it serves other extraneous goals of legitimation. The link between language and legitimation is striking. Dance education in Great Britain, for example, has recently moved from…

When the author left California for the University of Minnesota twenty-five years ago, he vowed never again to become involved in departmental or university politics. He'd had enough of that at California State, Los Angeles, and he was determined to devote his full attention, apart from teaching, to several scholarly projects that had simmered so…

How can literature teachers foster an ethic of care in the classroom? How can literature and imaginative pedagogical strategies facilitate education of the moral imagination and overall training of the ethical thinker? This essay explores some theoretical reflections on moral education through literature and, in particular, suggests practical…

While California community colleges are open to all students eligible and able to benefit, most students must demonstrate that they are ready for college-level academic work by passing the college's placement exam once they enroll. Because California does not explicitly define college readiness standards for high school students, the placement…

The State of Florida Department of Education provides pre-and-post-graduation data for public high school graduates throughout Florida. These data were used for the present report to produce data sets for all M-DCPS regular high schools and charter high schools graduating students in 2007 and 2008. Summary data for the district are also provided.…

A preliminary set of analyses was conducted linking students to courses and courses to teachers based upon data collected by the Louisiana Department of Education's Divisions of Planning, Analysis, and Information Resources and Student Standards and Assessments. An analysis of covariance, a weighted analysis of covariance, and a hierarchical…

This study investigates the ways in which the disciplines of science and literature influence concepts related to thinking among teachers at colleges of education. Tools were developed to distinguish between what teachers declared to be important in the thinking skills necessary for their discipline and the skills the teachers actually used. A…

This article describes how music in the language classroom setting can be a catalyst for developing reading, writing, and understanding skills. Studies suggest that pairing music and linguistic intelligences in the college classroom improves students' grades and abilities to compose theses statements for research papers in courses that emphasize…