Three historic examples demonstrate the vital role data displays (graphs and tables) have played in important discoveries. Levels of information that form the basis of a theory of display are described, and steps to improve the quality of tabular presentations in educational writing are outlined. (SLD)

Employers consistently rank communication skills, in particular writing ability, among the most important skills for undergraduate business students to possess. However, improving writing skills, especially with respect to punctuation, grammar, and word choice, often requires substantial teacher time and effort. To assess and improve student…

A study examined student writing portfolios to determine improvement of student writing due to instructional changes under the guidelines and standards established for the Kentucky Writing Program. A random sample of 1991-92 and 1994-95 fourth-grade portfolios were analyzed, 10% from each of the 8 elementary schools in the Muhlenberg County school…

An action research project designed and evaluated the effectiveness of an instructional strategy to improve the writing of all secondary students (particularly African-American males) in the Webster Groves, Missouri school district. The first year was devoted to an intensive study of African American culture and literature. A list of six…

The issue of whether or not to correct errors in students' writing is controversial. Some scholars argue that error correction is helpful, while others argue that it is ineffective, perhaps even harmful. What is missing from the literature are studies about how error correction might affect the performance of specific types of students. This…

A plan for increasing effective student writing skills was developed and implemented. Subjects were students in a regular first-grade class, a fifth-sixth grade behavior disorder (BD) class, and a seventh-eighth grade self-contained educable mentally handicapped (EMH) class, all of whom exhibited inadequate writing skills. Evidence for the…

A study examined a program for advancement of students' literacy to improve their reading and writing skills. Subjects were seven fifth-grade bilingual students in a growing middle class community, located in a suburb of a large midwestern city. The problem of low reading and writing scores was documented in student writing samples, teacher…

In 1984-85, the New York City Public Schools received $2,374,686 from the state legislature to operate the School Community Education Program (also known as the Umbrella Program). The program consisted of 46 different projects designed to provide innovative solutions to local educational and school problems. Thirteen of these projects, providing…

The effects of dictation and explicit instruction in planning on the composing skills of 42 fifth, sixth, and seventh graders with learning disabilities were studied. The combination of dictation and instruction in advanced planning resulted in more complete and qualitatively better essays than those written by comparison students. (SLD)

This study aimed to investigate the importance of self-efficacy and attitudes to wards writing in writing training. It was also necessary to establish whether these constructs could be more enhanced through a specific intervention as part of the motivational factors, than through training which coaches other writing components such as cognitive…

There are students whom teachers always seem to remember, primarily because they provide special insight into teaching and learning. These students, most of whom usually have learning difficulties in school, teach important lessons to teachers about determination, survival, and about becoming readers and writers. One such student is Kimberly,…

In Australia the internationalization of education implies an increasing amount of "non-Anglo", predominantly South-East Asian, students from different ethnic and language backgrounds in the classroom. This impacts on the effectiveness of action learning of professional skills, which is highly valued and supported by Australian…

In 1989, the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools received a grant to create an elementary arts magnet school and to enhance magnet programs at four other schools in Portland (Oregon). The Portland Magnet Program emphasized improvements in programing, marketing, and articulation between magnet programs, allowing the schools to purchase…

The Lexington School for the Deaf (New York) has developed a program which involves deaf students in extensive writing within the science curriculum through utilization of a local area network of linked computers. The program is intended to counter the students' low science achievement and poor written language skills. Originally developed for use…

Intended to complement two other summaries about writing across the curriculum at Gallaudet College for deaf students, this report describes the first academic year of the college's writing across the curriculum program (WAC), detailing various instructors' projects and their personal opinions about the program, as well as how the students felt…