Conditions of language and literacy are considered by a Texas educator and presented at a 1982 hearing held by the National Commission on Excellence in Education. It is noted that a 1979 policy at the University of Texas system established a freshman-level remedial English course for credit. At the University of Texas, San Antonio, this course is…

The decontextualized nature of literacy has been a recurrent issue in discussions of the consequences of literacy over the last twenty years. The central thesis of these discussions is that the nature of written discourse itself leads directly or indirectly to changes in cognitive processing, linguistic progressing, cultural development, and/or…

Most discussions concerning whether literature should be taught in the composition classroom have concentrated on the pedagogical theories of learning how to write, instead of the economic and political reasons for the initial separation of the two disciplines. To help make people more employable in the rising service economy universities have…

The cognitivist view of composition suggests that if students are supplied with a set of writing strategies, they will learn to think in more complex and powerful ways, observing their own ideas and writing from another person's viewpoint. On the other hand, some social critics argue that composition teachers need to help their students enter into…

The result of both discussions and individual papers by members of the Intersegmental Committee on Writing Skills of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, this position paper proposes a possible, intersegmental solution to the problem of the inadequacy of student writing skills. After presenting background information on the problem,…

Based on the work of 11 women and men from the Commission on Writing formed by the Council for Basic Education, this book concerns the necessity and rewards of learning to write. The book stresses teaching and learning writing in the English class, but it also views writing activities as parts of general education. Considering the unsatisfactory…

After a brief discussion of the concepts underlying the design of a high school district's composition program that emphasizes teacher inservice preparation and writing as process rather than product, this paper develops a theory of learning language skills similar to that used in learning a second language. A distinction is drawn between language…

How the computer can be used to support and improve the following teaching and study methods in geography is discussed: lectures, reading, tutoring, small group teaching, simulation, educational games, model building, problem solving, field work, written work, and exploratory data analysis. Educational problems involved in each application are…

An American instructor taught a 5-week course on the family in American drama to a group of graduate English majors on the campus of Hebei Teachers' University in the People's Republic of China. The instructor learned as much about Chinese culture as the students learned about American culture. Lecture is the standard pedagogy even in graduate…

Contains reflections on the importance of teachers' summer vacations and the activities that revitalize the teaching spirit. (RL)

Describes assignments which engage students and are suitable for end of year: (1) a video or booklet for incoming students describing what the grade they are about to enter is all about; (2) a book of poetry for a special person; (3) a research packet for next year's students; and (4) a letter from parents explaining their feelings for their…

Six articles discuss librarians as mediators in special circumstances. Highlights include the reference librarian and the information paraprofessional; effective reference mediation for nontraditional public library users, including mentally impaired patrons and illiterate adults; the academic librarian's role in the education process; and…

Discusses writing instruction in elementary and secondary schools. Writing reforms are suggested, including increasing time spent on writing and encouraging process writing; writing across the curriculum is discussed; the use of technology is considered; and sidebars give examples of writing improvement programs. (LRW)

Explores alternative ways teachers can serve linguistically and culturally diverse student populations. Two Philadelphia elementary teachers have successfully created learning contexts for bilingual literacy. This article describes ways they adapt their teaching for biliterate development and for the particular bilingual contexts and media of…

A case study examined how one elementary school teacher negotiated her response to VAP (Vermont Assessment Program), Vermont's requirement for a portfolio assessment. Two questions guided the study: (1) how does one fifth-grade teacher use portfolios in classroom writing assessment and instruction? and (2) to what extent do portfolios, as mandated…