Discusses reasons for the lack of ongoing exchange among university colleagues. Suggests how writing programs can foster this exchange through various collaborative projects for writing faculty, including peer advising, composition seminars, and interactive observation. (MM)

Argues that writing centers have the essential function of critiquing institutions and creating knowledge about writing. Explains how this function has clear implications for what tutors should know and how they should be trained. Enlists Antonio Gramsci's theory of culture to analyze traditional composition teaching and research. (HB)

Outlines the Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) program, a sequenced and structured reading/language arts program used by elementary level students at Bracher School in Santa Clara, California. Describes several cooperative reading and writing activities used in this program. (MM)

Presents eight guidelines to consider when using computers for language instruction, emphasizing computer use in a social and purposeful context. Suggests computer software which adheres to these guidelines. (MM)

Discusses the problems presented to writing center tutors by traditional research paper assignments. Recounts typical definitions of student research papers according to current-traditional rhetoric. Advocates writing centers helping students transform research papers into meaning-making activities in which students construct knowledge. (HB)

Describes a collaborative reading and writing project matching preservice student teachers with eighth-grade students. Provides analysis of participant reactions to the program, including specific comments by both students and teachers about the readings and the subsequent writing assignments. (HB)

Considers the role of the writing center within the context of a large writing program. Describes how the adoption of a portfolio system of grading at the University of Southern California focused attention on this issue. Narrates the changes brought about by the adoption of a portfolio assessment system. (HB)

Offers a view of writing as a process involving three forms of collaboration: coauthoring, workshopping, and knowledge making. Offers guidelines for designing courses in which writing is consciously, deliberately collaborative in all three of the realms identified. (MG)

This article presents several recommendations for helping elementary and secondary school students with learning problems to apply story writing strategies. Recommendations include create an environment for writing that nurtures developing writers; encourage teacher and peer interaction through a variety of collaborative activities; and monitor…

This book provides elementary teachers with ways to use focused observation to help plan thoughtful, effective instruction and curriculum for their students. The recommended strategies can be implemented in a variety of situations, grade levels, and teaching environments. Three chapters present stories related to: getting along in the classroom…

With sections on using the Web to plan and structure courses, conduct research, and publish student work, as well as a reference essay that reviews Web sites for educators and students, this book reveals the rich variety of ways in which this technology can be used by English and language arts teachers at all levels. The 20 essays in the book…

This book assists teachers to understand why basing instructional practices on cognitive theories of instruction can better prepare students to become strategic learners. The volume synthesizes and distills findings from current research and identifies instructional components that enable teachers to implement strategy instruction in the basic…

Plain talk is the cornerstone for creating a classroom atmosphere in which students want to learn to improve their writing. As much as possible, the jargon and technical terminology of the profession of English should be eliminated. Teachers will know what level of language to use if they determine the nature of their audience. Teachers have to…

This article offers an instructional intervention for teaching analytical writing skills to middle school students with and without learning difficulties. The intervention combines direct instruction, peer critiquing (cooperative learning), and a cognitive behavior modification self-regulation strategy. (DB)

Providing teacher educators with a model of university-school collaboration, this book explores ways of breaking through children's sense of isolation from other children and shows by example what it means to break through a similar isolation that teachers often experience. Written in the form of a professional dialogue, the book deals with such…