This paper addresses the culture of writing in higher education from a multicultural perspective of those within the "monolith." The paper first notes that writing programs, more specifically writing across the curriculum (WAC), and writing centers work in similar ways by benefiting each other and sharing the broad mission of improving…

Describes two research studies with high school teachers and students that examine various aspects of both students' and teachers' perspectives on teacher responses to student writing. Examines how well teachers put their own theory about writing instruction into practice with their response style; analyzes teacher comments and students'…

Explains how faculty at Quinnipiac College reconceptualized developmental English and designed a new program that provides additional instructional time within the regular freshman English course. Finds that developmental students are better motivated and achieve growth in reading and writing commensurate with students who had a prior semester of…

Examined the positive and negative aspects of using computers to teach writing within a context of intensive teacher and peer feedback and support for fifth- and sixth- year Montessori students. Found that technology enhanced the writing process for creative, collaborative work and for peer response and editing. (KB)

Describes an intervention program to provide extra writing instruction to seventh-grade struggling readers. Discusses characteristics of these struggling writers and compares it to other research that involved low-achieving students. Notes how teachers developed the program using authentic writing activities together with structured lessons about…

Evaluates a Navajo school program to improve writing skills using the process model and computers. Concludes that students' writing skills improved more in the experimental program than in comparable conventional classes, and that the new approach created a different pattern of growth in writing ability. (SV)

Describes Cantonese-speaking English as a Foreign Language (EFL) undergraduates writing on a Local Area Network (LAN) and in traditional writing classes at a Hong Kong university. Determines which context--LANs or traditional writing classes--produced better writing and more improvement in writing. Suggests that LAN classes are no more…

Offers a portrait of an inspiring teacher who created an environment of celebration for a group of students repeating first grade. Shows how these students achieved beyond what they or others thought was possible, relishing and sharing their newly acquired literacy abilities. (SR)

A theoretically and empirically based intervention, Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), for students who struggle with academic tasks is described. The instructional implications and evaluation of performance for one student with learning and behavioral difficulties highlights the usefulness of this instructional approach. Six individual…

The benefits of a self-regulated strategy development approach for teaching elementary school students with learning disabilities how to write opinion essays are discussed, and the steps of the POW plus TREE strategy of instruction are outlined: develop background knowledge, discuss, model, memorize, support it, and perform independently.…

One strategy used to improve teaching at Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland, is a six-year writing across the curriculum project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Faculty from 14 departments spend a year teaming with a member of the writing department; following that year of paired teaching, the content faculty become…

An Oregon school implemented a program of journal writing in grades 5 to 8 and evaluated its effects upon the language arts curriculum and students' writing ability. Each of the 11 teachers in the project decided the amount of time to allocate to journal writing and the routines to establish, although all followed certain guidelines on…

Noting that the achievements of boys have been the subject of growing concern in England for a number of years, this booklet indicates some ways to improve the achievement of boys in literacy. The booklet focuses on work in secondary schools and is based on visits to 14 mixed secondary schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas. It begins with a…

Describes how one English teacher engaged in a collaborative writing exercise with a fifth-grade female student. Explains how the teacher worked to become an equal partner with the student in the collaborative effort. Provides specific information about how the student's writing improved. (HB)

A project to improve the writing skills of children (grades 4-10) who are deaf included instruction for teachers in the process approach to teaching writing and a data collection and analysis phase to assess short-term effects on students' writing. Pretest-posttest results showed dramatic improvement in students' writing, particularly in…