Develops an explanation and a defense of portfolio assessment as a feasible means of assessment in writing classes. Describes some ways of using portfolios and outlines advantages to the portfolio system of grading. (HB)

Late in the summer of 1966, the so-called Dartmouth Conference--the first large-scale international conference on English teaching--was convened at Dartmouth College. Here is an outline of the educational changes that took place during the development of the New English and a few reasons why it did not receive the broad approval that many…

Twenty four mini-elective courses utilizing mass media were organized to motivate students in English classes at Shuler Junior High School, Cleveland, Ohio. (DS)

Looks back on the emphasis in language development in the periods 1900 to 1917, 1917-1935, and the 1950s. Examines current developments in teaching English and suggests directions for the future. (RK)

Presents a literature unit for high school English designed to promote students' moral development through study of moral conflicts in novels and scenarios. The unit is based on Kohlberg's moral development stage theory. Assignments, handouts, and a test are provided. (SJL)

Underachieving high school students participated in an English program, in which they could select games or other activities as rewards for academic or social skills mastery specified in a weekly contract. Students' game preferences and teacher guidelines on game use were identified. (SJL)

Discusses Stephen Tanner's model of using literary criticism as a discourse, asserting that it fails to train students to think, but only teaches them to discuss literature from an academic perspective. In contrast, Robert Scholes' model of textual studies offers both a workable methodology and a relevant curriculum. (MM)

Discusses a teacher training program for secondary school English teachers. Part of the course would be to familiarize education students with many different philosophies of education, part would be a study of English educators who hold differing views on what should be taught in the English classroom. (Author/RK)

Describes the widening gulf between high school and college practices of teaching literature, with high school students trained in reader response entering college courses based on analysis (traditional or nontraditional) of texts and requiring skills they do not possess. (SR)

A rationale is presented for using science fiction in the English classroom, emphasizing that students like the genre and that it teaches them to analyze and interpret social and technological change. (SJL)

Describes the two-day library orientation offered to all incoming sophomore English classes at Quincy High and Vocational Technical Schools in Milton, Massachusetts. Computer-scored pretests allow librarians to tailor the basic orientation package to the needs of each class. (SJL)

Offers recommendations for curriculum renewal, indicating the major ways each of the four major disciplines (secondary English, social studies, mathematics, and science) can improve by the year 2000, and presenting an incremental strategy for achieving such gains. (SR)