Studies show that the use of writing in the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) can discourage some adults, especially those without a diploma. For those who do proceed, how is the use of reading and writing experienced? Is it a lever or a barrier? This article presents results from a study conducted in Quebec based on semi-structured interviews…

Close to one billion people in the world do not have basic literacy skills. A key challenge is reaching children in the midst of circumstances that make a traditional school-based approach impractical. This chapter will describe a cross-disciplinary, mobile technology approach to literacy education. The Curious Learning approach distributes…

The process of digital storytelling allows basic writers to take a personal narrative and translate it into a multimodal and multidimensional experience, motivating a diverse group of writers with different learning styles to engage more creatively and meaningfully in the writing process. Digital storytelling has the capacity to contextualize…

Explores how insights of the 1970s are being lost, namely, those about why and how the academy thinks about basic writing and students deemed "illiterate" or "remedial." Examines a discourse that the author calls Basic Writing and how it has marginalized basic writing courses, teachers, and students. (TB)

Argues that prewriting is the most important skill to emphasize and practice extensively in basic writing classes. Describes basic writers as almost universally neglecting prewriting activities. Suggests some guidelines for teaching prewriting effectively. (HB)

Considers Mina Shaughnessy's metaphor likening the experience of basic writers to that of "uncultured natives" under European colonization. Advocates decolonizing the classroom by devising a pedagogy of voice in a dialogized space that is continually reconstructed from different locations and identities. (HB)

Compares the work of nineteenth-century Scottish philosopher George Jardine with the work of modern theorists, particularly Mina Shaughnessy. Shows how they all created similar plans for meeting the needs of students without the basic skills needed for traditional modes of instruction. (HB)

Describes a simple structuring device for teaching paragraphing skills which focuses the student's attention on the subject of the paragraph and a specific interest in the subject. Outlines how to use the method for showing basic writers how to proceed to longer compositions. (HB)

Argues that teaching reading and writing is not a matter of correcting errors or teaching the five-paragraph essay. Claims that it is instead a process of interdependence between the public and private, the individual and the group. Calls for a recognition of the role of interpretation in all meaning-making. (HB)

Looks at correctness in writing as a sociolinguistic phenomena that conveys information about the author in terms of his or her capacity to write as a college student and in a form commensurate with academic standards. Concludes that correctness has a sociolinguistic role crucial to the field of basic writing. (TB)

Claims that recent reassessments of Mina Shaughnessy's "Errors and Expectations" and the field of composition in the 1970s overlook the institutional forces that helped shape the rhetoric and methodology of researchers at that time. (HB)

This report discusses the state of developmental education in West Virginia from the perspectives of faculty, staff, and administrators throughout the state. It begins by defining developmental education as more than just "remedial" education and relying on faculty, focused coursework, and peer and professional support to help students…

Challenges several myths about writing assessment held by educators. Argues for the validity of assessments developed within particular environments for particular purposes agreed to by those teaching within those environments. Celebrates the lack of conformity in grading as a sign of a rich and nurturing environment for the development of writing…

Reviews studies on the effects of introducing word processing to basic writers. Presents the findings of an original pilot study which concludes that computer instruction causes basic students to write more. Suggests ways of improving instruction and obtaining more consistent results in future studies. (HB)

Contends that evaluations of student writing come not from some transcendent realm but from the discursive practices by which teachers authorize themselves within a given community. Argues that basic writers need explicit knowledge of such practices, and proposes a language-centered curriculum to teach it. (HB)