This is a personal account of the author's journey through involvement with learning communities (LCs). She began college with little exposure to mentoring and research. Six years later, she graduated with a master's degree, a trove of experience from LCs, and the confidence to take on a research role in her profession. The author's personal roles…

The research phase preluding a design capstone project is challenging for both students and instructors. In a situation where students are free to work on a topic of their choosing, a preset, generic research design is not suitable. Imposing a rigid framework would endanger the possibility of students truly examining and capturing the complexity…

How can writing instructors prepare students for informed and engaged civic discourse when opportunities for such discourse are seemingly limited and ineffective? This essay examines this question by reporting on a case study that explored civic discourse and civic participation at the local level of government. The aims of the case study were to…

Ninety gifted students from Warren County schools participated in a multifaceted summer institute program, focusing on water pollution. Writing and research skills were emphasized. This article describes the rationale, objectives, process, and evaluation design of this program and comments on the future of gifted education. (SJL)