This qualitative study explored the nature of tutor training in community college writing centers that served a significant English Language Learner (ELL) population. Using a case-study approach, the researcher sought to understand senior administrators' decision-making process about ELL-specific training in two community college writing centers…

Research has shown that dialogic instruction is a desirable method of curriculum delivery. Dialogic instruction encourages students to integrate cognitive and behavioral processes, thus leading to a broader transferable skill set. This study presented an overview of dialogic instruction related to various accepted learning theories, an examination…

This paper examines the embedded librarian program and its impact on the information literacy skills of community college students at Queensborough Community College (QCC). It is a collaboration between an embedded librarian and an English instructor at QCC. The study participants are QCC students enrolled in seven sections of English 101 and…

This article describes a study which investigated how explicit strategy instruction may shape student use of metacognitive knowledge and in what ways this knowledge promotes self-regulation in the learning of writing. From a class of a 2-year associate degree programme in Hong Kong, which experienced a 15-week process-oriented writing course…

In November 2008, the National Council of Teachers of English published "The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies" (21CL); its objectives include using technology, producing and analyzing multimedia texts, accessing and evaluating complex research sources, building relationships to enable collaboration, considering the diversity of a global…

This dissertation reports on student learning and students' perceptions of learning in contextualized composition courses at a Midwestern community college. The teacher-scholar who conducted the research taught four different contextualized composition courses for occupational program students and collected various forms of data, including student…

Cell phone ubiquity enables students to record and share audio file versions of their essays for proofreading purposes. Adopting this practice in community college developmental writing classes leads to an investigation of both writing as a technology and the influence of modern technology on composition and composition pedagogy.

The purpose of this study was to examine the intersection between and among creativity, cognition, composition, and community. Researchers studied hundreds of adult students from several California community colleges and private universities by means of surveys, observations, and interviews to augment an extensive historical literature review.…

In the best of times, students training to be writing center consultants are empowered to work creatively with writers and professors as part of an integrated enterprise that contributes to teaching and learning on their campuses. In the worst of times, students training to be writing center consultants are disempowered, caught between faculty and…

Despite the growing linguistic diversity of students in today's community college writing classes, there has been little research on the unique problems that instructors face when students from differing second linguistic and cultural backgrounds populate the same classrooms. This study explores the extent to which four community college writing…

This essay explores the influence of the discourse and practices of the learning outcomes assessment (LOA) movement on three composition instructors' assignments and assessments. While outcomes assessment by itself can be a useful tool, it cannot be separated from the exigency that compels it, in which educational practices must be defended…

The number of nonnative English speakers and Generation 1.5 students enrolled in mainstream English classes continues to grow, especially in community colleges in California and other western states. Yet most English teachers with degrees in Literature, Creative Writing, or even Composition have not been trained in TOESL and often feel…

Higher incidence of student under achievements and attrition rate continue to pose significant challenges for the organizational effectiveness of community colleges. Restructuring the classroom at each academic departmental level to better accommodate the needs of the students should be considered by community colleges as part of an institutional…

There is a growing view that students who enroll in developmental courses are less successful in completing their programs than non-developmental students. Nevertheless, even though developmental students as a group ultimately might not be as academically successful as non-developmental students, many of them might still derive benefit from taking…

This article reports on my attempt to use storytelling as an entry point into academic discourse in a learning community designed to meet the learning needs of ESL students who recently emigrated from the Dominican Republic. Based on research suggesting a correlation between academic success in a second language and first language literacy skills,…