ACT Information Brief 2004-1 showed that retention and cumulative first-year college GPA are related to ACT Composite scores. Overall achievement, as measured by cumulative first-year college GPA, is strongly related to high school preparation, as measured by ACT Composite score, for students who return for a second year of college. This brief…

This paper constructs a history of empowerment and critical pedagogies in U.S. composition studies, building on the idea that critical pedagogies arise out of social constructs and exigencies, and they are not divorced from the realities of students' academic concerns and growths. Primary sources for the paper are table of contents pages in…

This 18th volume of "Classroom Notes Plus" contains descriptions of original, unpublished teaching practices, or adapted ideas. Under the Ideas from the Classroom section, the August 2000 issue contains the following materials: "The Thought Pot" (Andrew R. West); "Seeing Is Reading: 'The Hollow Men'" (James Penha);…

This manuscript on instruction in English shows the changes that have come over this subject during the past 40 years particularly, describes the condition in which it now is, and makes suggestions for further study. It finds a good deal of uncertainty in the matter of formal study of grammar. Emphasis varies. Some courses of study enumerate 45…

Focuses on the Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, which has redesigned its curriculum to integrate LOGO across the entire K-4 curriculum as a tool for the teaching of other subjects. How practical problems are being overcome is discussed, and some instructional applications are described. (EAO)

Describes the use of computer labs in a Texas high school. Highlights include word processing; a study skills course; software programs currently in use by English and English-as-a-Second-Language classes; physical layout, including security considerations and furniture; hardware, including printers; and guidelines for the selection of software.…

On Fridays, rather than changing classes, the students at one middle school spend all four team periods with one teacher/adviser as they pursue intensive, independent quarterly learning projects in either science, math, social studies, or English. A program evaluation showed improved student engagement, independent learning, thinking skills, and…

Based on analysis of discussions of fiction using Dedalus Interchange in literary analysis classes, it was found that synchronous electronic conferencing exposed students to more viewpoints, deemphasized traditional authority, increased metalinguistic awareness, decreased inhibition and gender barriers, and facilitated increased social…

Discusses the possibilities for pleasure, community, and collective meaning making among fifth- and sixth-grade students and various adults (teachers, parents, and school staff) during their prolonged engagement with a single literary work, Lois Lowry's "The Giver," as they read and reread the novel, annotating the text with their…

Describes how the author, teaching at a South Florida high school with many children of Mexican-American migrant workers, shaped his English instruction in scenarios that reflected students' lives and cultures. Shows how class discussions and assignments probed the worthiness of the language used and the reason why it was successful. Argues that…

Following the publication of an article summarising two systematic reviews on whether the teaching of grammar is effective in improving 5-16 year olds' writing (Andrews et al, 2006), the present article reflects on the relationship between knowledge about language and knowledge about grammar. It argues that there is no evidence for the assumption…

The author discusses the power of personal narratives to help writers not only improve their writing and understand themselves but also think more critically. Through poetry that grew from her impulse for narrative, the author reveals her growth as a teacher who was simultaneously learning about students' growth and change. (Contains 1 figure.)

By addressing race and class through the stories we tell about service-learning in the classroom and in our scholarship, I argue that we can more effectively negotiate the divide between the university and the community and work toward social change. (Contains 13 notes.)

Literary texts are cultural artifacts revealing a society's values and attitudes; reading literature about elders and old age can change readers' ageist attitudes. Beginning with these assumptions, I discuss ways of teaching cross-cultural aging in undergraduate literature courses, using Chilean texts paired with American texts. Students learn how…

Advantages to using the Internet to deliver instruction include the fact that Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) can be accessed on any computer, broadening the student base to anyone with an Internet browser and a PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) account. In addition, instructions, lectures, and examples can be linked together for use as students need…