The Metropolitan Educational Trends and Research Outcomes Center conducts Improving Programs of Schools Serving Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Student Populations, a survey to identify programs that have successfully addressed the needs of ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse students. This report presents a cross-sites…

FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES SET FORTH BY THE ENGLISH TEACHER PREPARATION STUDY (ETPS), 17 ENGLISH EDUCATION SPECIALISTS IDENTIFIED TWO MAJOR CONCERNS REGARDING METHODS COURSES--(1) THE CONTENT PRESENTED AND (2) THE BACKGROUND AND PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION OF THE INSTRUCTOR. SPECIFICALLY, THE CONTENT OF METHODS COURSES MIGHT INCLUDE--(1) ENGLISH…

English, which enrolls all students, is the only humanities course capable of transmitting culture to everyone. Students respond to cultural stimuli other than books, however; and since many justifications for traditionally narrow English courses are demonstrably not valid, English subject matter should be broadened to include methods of…

The aim of this course for grades 10-12 is to develop in students their command of language through their use of it. It tries to guide the student through the actual process of composition, avoiding the treatment of the pre-writing stage and the writer's situation. The instruction material is divided into six categories (Conciseness and Clarity,…

Designed to identify the major problems of the non-committed high school learner and to suggest specific, practical courses of action for the experienced educator, this book emphasizes the positive approach that everyone can improve if given feedback for his responses. Chapters are concerned with (1) identifying the non-committed learner; (2) the…

An examination of classroom behavior, teaching methods, materials, equipment, and administrative practices in a junior high school reading and speech improvement class, in a senior high school communication skills course for low achievers, and in an English class for high achievers revealed that (1) shifting populations result in transiency,…

The main thesis of this book which describes a pupil-centered curriculum is that students should use language more than they customarily do. The curriculum is based on a "naturalistic" approach "whereby students learn essentially by doing and receiving feedback." Consequently, most of the book is devoted to guiding the student from a posture of…

The variety of influences on the teaching of literature at the elementary school level is illustrated by this description of current practices and review of research and development in the area. The following types of materials are reviewed to point out recommended practices: curriculum guides, objectives of library programs, textbooks for…

This collection of 15 descriptions of teaching practices was designed to aid classroom teachers and to inform curriculum supervisors, administrators, and the general public of the wide range and complexity of activities within the profession. Two articles emphasize the place of linguistics in the classroom and clarify some of the problems of…

The 11 papers collected in this book provide an analysis of a number of issues basic to English education. J. W. Patrick Creber discusses "rigour" in creative work and the question of "subject-centered" versus "student-centered" curriculums in British schools; Francis G. Townsend describes the working relationships…

This paper is the introduction to a workshop session demonstrating how English and language-arts teachers can teach critical thinking and writing simultaneously to students in grades 4 through 14. It describes how to transform specific skills into frames for critical thinking and writing such as: (1) explaining; (2) categorizing; (3) comparing and…

The 28 essays in this journal issue focus on methodology, interpretation, and classroom application of research in the language arts. Following a preface on the role of research in English instruction, the topics discussed include the following: (1) a research base for a large-scale evaluation of writing; (2) implications of teaching writing as…

The use of new technologies to deliver courses in humanities to adult, off-campus students in rural western Minnesota is described in nine essays. A 4-year project was funded to improve access to the humanities, resulting in the redesign of 40 courses since 1981. In addition discussing the background of the project, evaluative mechanisms, and…

An examination of the ways in which teachers gain and use knowledge about their work is presented through a case study using retrospective interviews with a high school English teacher in Canada. The teacher's "practical knowledge" was explored in a series of open-ended discussions, dealing with the teacher's involvement in the development of an…

This volume on elementary language programs is divided into four related parts. Part 1 discusses the sources of any effective language program: an understanding of the child's need for language, a knowledge of child development, and an awareness of the continuity essential to growth in language. Part 2 treats the main areas of the language…