Teacher education doctoral seminars can provide a space for students to collaborate, reflect and support each other as they transition from teacher to teacher educator. These spaces also provide a forum for the learning of new research methodologies. This collaborative self-study chronicles how one group of doctoral students learned self-study…

Across disciplines, faculty members face a common challenge of finding methods to get their students to complete assigned course readings. It becomes an even larger task to develop strategies whereby students are also engaging in deep reading that promotes critical thinking. Reading positively impacts students on a number of variables, and when…

The authors designed the project described her in order to address their students' expressed frustrations at the perceived disconnect between theory and practice. The project combined course readings, journaling, collaboratively created observation protocols, and classroom observation into a semester-long iterative assignment. The students' work…

Science IDEAS is an evidence-based model that reflects interdisciplinary research findings that support the integration of literacy (e.g., reading comprehension) within science instruction in grades K-5. Presented is a framework for planning integrated science and literacy instruction in which six elements (hands-on investigations, reading,…

This article reports findings from two studies assessing reading compliance among first semester freshmen at a small Midwestern two-year liberal arts university. The first study assessed reading compliance of students enrolled in two sections of First Year Seminar, finding that 46% of students reported that they read assignments, yet only 55% of…

The Family Backpack Project provided 249 low-income, prekindergarten children and their families with opportunities to read and listen to audio recordings of 3 sets of books in their homes. Families received English or dual-language texts (English plus Spanish, Arabic, Kurdish, or Somali) matched to their home languages. Children and their…

A student-centered teaching methodology is an essential ingredient of a successful Pan-African literary course. In this article, the author defines Pan-Africanism and how to go about designing a Pan-African literature course. The author combines reading assignments with journals, film presentations, and lectures in a productive learning…

We describe an MBA course focusing on creativity and innovation in organizations. Drawing on the creativity literature and experiential learning theory, the theoretical foundations of the course are discussed. Core aspects of the course include reading articles from academic journals and business periodicals, engaging a wide variety of…

This article addresses the concern many instructors have about students who do not complete assigned work, particularly the reading. The author explains briefly why extensive reading is so important in developmental writing classes and discusses a multi-step approach she has been using successfully for years. A list of short novels and stories…

This article describes how teachers welcome a diminutive paper doll with outspread arms, bulbous cheeks, and exciting stories to share into their fold to help impart lessons both local and global. Often folded or laminated for protection and accompanied by photographs, the paper doll is part of the international mini-phenomenon known as Flat…

In this article, the author describes how he introduced a history project that blended a book discussion activity and the use of blogs to his eighth-grade class. Over four weeks, his class participated in a lively collective journal centered on an assigned piece of reading: "Guerrilla Season" by Pat Hughes. The historical novel, set…

Focuses on the use of a Reader's Journal that involves students in writing informal responses to reading assignments for history courses. Explains that the Reader's Journal is used to improve students' reading of assignments. Discusses students' responses to the journal entry assignment and the challenges involved. (CMK)

Offers student-centered reading activities designed to bring students to reading maturity and involvement in literature. Discusses partner reading, dramatizing and performing texts, transforming texts, journal writing, discussion, and writing. (PRA)

Describes a high school biology assignment that had students read a self-selected book where the main character experiences nature and is changed by it. Evaluation was based on journal entries and a formal paper. Seventy percent of the students indicated they greatly enjoyed the assignment. (PR)

Describes how a college professor incorporates "commonplace books" into his courses, with reading and writing the focal practices in curriculum studies classrooms. He defines commonplace books as collecting places for various writings related to the courses. The books represent fragments of a variety of experiences in a variety of…