This article contains excerpts from the author's two seminal texts: "Literature as Exploration (New York: MLA, 1938) and "The Reader, the Text, the Poem" (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1978). In "Literature as Exploration," the author first presented her transactional theory of reading as she explored the personal, social,…

Web-based, e-learning classes, or online classes that use a proprietary course management system such as Blackboard, are an increasingly prominent part of higher education, particularly in community colleges. In fact, more than three-quarters of community colleges now offer the same course in face-to-face and online modes. And community colleges…

This paper reports on preliminary findings from a longitudinal study on the integration of multimedia and the internet technologies into language teaching. Phase I of the study included novice computer users' approaches to multimedia design. Phase II explored the correlations between their attitudes and cognitive styles; and Phase III focused on…

The effectiveness of the Test of Standard Written English (TSWE) as an aid in placing students into introductory English courses was studied by relating test scores to course outcomes for students entering the University of Houston between the fall of 1977 and the spring of 1981. For students placed into the regular introductory English…

This issue of "NETAC Networks" highlights the following: (1) A snapshot of life in the U.S. Virgin Islands (Karen Brin); (2) Upcoming events by state; (3) Convert television captions to web-streaming formats; (4) I.D.E.A. reauthorized; (5) Vermont Career Day 2004 (Janet Dickinson); (6) Eye on the prize (Jane Jarrow); (7) Promoting…

Through a detailed case study of one preservice teacher's development, the author examines the tension between basic skills and whole language discourses in literacy education. The author frames "the basic skills/whole language binary" as a "social imaginary,"--"an image that exists within the popular imagination or unconscious" and a force that…

This article describes the results of an inquiry/multigenre project undertaken by students in a literacy foundations course. The project's initial pedagogical goal was to provide pre- and in-service teachers with multiple and engaging opportunities to read and write in areas of their interests. That goal expanded to encompass the critical literacy…

This study set out to answer the question, "What are the components of high school courses that prepare students for successful entry into postsecondary education without the need for remediation?" Ten schools were identified where, in 2001 and 2002, students achieved scores on the ACT Assessment that made it likely they would succeed in…

Drawing on an activity theory analysis, Elizabeth A. Wardle considers whether cross-disciplinary FYC collaborations can help us achieve current FYC goals. Her analysis of learning community linked FYC courses at a large Midwestern university suggests that learning community teachers are faced with as many--if not more--challenges as traditional…

In this article, the authors discuss how Louise Rosenblatt's work influenced many teachers' teaching and learning practices. Rosenblatt was known for helping readers find their rightful place in the act of reading. Louise argued in the 1930s (and steadfastly maintained until her recent death) that the act of reading was a dynamic transaction…

By addressing race and class through the stories we tell about service-learning in the classroom and in our scholarship, I argue that we can more effectively negotiate the divide between the university and the community and work toward social change. (Contains 13 notes.)

This article links failed reform to failed education through a case study of an annual collaborative revision of a program textbook in the Composition Program at the University of California at Irvine. Review of successive editions of the program's "Student Guide to Writing at UCI" reveals a progressive retreat from the program's…

This paper discusses the use of online classroom collaborative environments to support the face-to-face teaching of a graduate course in English Literature. Online data from graduate students and the professor were collected and analyzed. Results show that students benefit from the online interaction to learn English Literature. There are,…

Interactive discourse structuring is used to guide listeners through on-going speech and has been shown to have a positive effect on lecture comprehension, particularly in L2 settings. As mobility increases in the academic world, there are more opportunities for lecture events characterized not only by linguistic/cultural diversity, but also by…

This study was performed to determine if a first-year experience course with a service-learning component could help students achieve teaching dispositions and make freshmen more satisfied with their college experience. "Teaching dispositions" are the set of desirable habits and ways of thinking and acting necessary for successful…