Adolescent suicide is a growing phenomenon that is not adequately addressed in graduate education. Students and clinicians who experience a patient suicide respond negatively which in turn affects perceived competence. As a result, education in adolescent suicide is warranted. Therefore, this dissertation is a graduate level course on adolescent…

History teachers are frequently frustrated in their efforts to promote class discussion. Class discussion is useful to deliver or reinforce content and to explore or share ideas. Yet teachers learn quickly that they cannot expect good discussion, especially good whole-class discussion, to take place when they want it to. One approach to the…

In "Active Reading," Mark Panek details the dialogic model for discussing reading assignments in introductory composition courses he developed while teaching at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. He then argues for the model's appropriateness and effectiveness for diverse student populations, situating his discussion in the conversation of…

Describes the Reporter's Reading Method, a student-directed reading system that requires students to write questions as they read, and use those questions as the basis for classroom discussion. (MM)

This article describes a reading and writing project designed for an undergraduate survey course in mathematics. For the Math Book Club, students in groups of four read and discuss one of six books related to mathematics and the history of mathematics. As part of the assignment, students take turns developing discussion questions and summarizing…

Designed for all incoming international students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, this handbook answers questions and offers information and strategies that can be used to make their transition into the U.S. system easier. It explains the expectations, norms, and procedures of the U.S. educational system. The handbook is divided into…

Examples are presented of worksheets designed to help students prepare for discussions of literature in terms of the language, plot, and literary aspects of a particular work. All examples are from an introductory course in German literature. Benefits of using such worksheets include increased students comprehension and class participation. (LMO)

Characterizes middle school teachers' discussions of assigned readings from a variety of content area materials. Finds that the teachers' purpose appeared to influence the type of discussion they conducted and that their actual discussions seldom resembled their articulated abstract definitions of a good discussion. (KEH)

Offers student-centered reading activities designed to bring students to reading maturity and involvement in literature. Discusses partner reading, dramatizing and performing texts, transforming texts, journal writing, discussion, and writing. (PRA)

In this article, the authors present eight strategies that integrate social studies and literacy by connecting assigned readings to students' contemporary knowledge and concerns. Each strategy begins with a reading assignment and is followed by an activity that connects students to the reading a second time by requiring them to go beyond…

"Amistad," the story of a group of Mende people illegally brought to the United States from West Africa in 1839, was taught to a group of 90 eighth grade students. To learn about the "Amistad," these eighth graders visited a replica of the ship, read a nonfiction account of the Amistad story, and viewed the Steven Spielberg…

The use of student-led discussions, or literature circles, offers the potential to engage all students through a more democratic, dialogic approach. The central goal of this research was to understand how adolescents practise literacy within the context of a peer reading group, and how gender impacts these practices. Transcripts of student-led…

In this paper, the author discusses an exercise she uses requiring students to view a popular film that portrays a particular mental disorder or a character with a mental disorder. Students analyze the film and write two papers, one about the sociological model of mental illness and a second about possible links between media images and the…

This study investigated the effects of autobiographical writing before reading on ninth graders' discussion and understanding of two short stories. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of audiotaped class discussion revealed that students who had written about relevant personal experience before reading were more substantively engaged in…

Recommends establishing literature study groups as early as the primary grades. Outlines the steps for implementing a group and describes several classroom experiences with them. Includes a discussion of follow-up activities, and a bibliography of related works. (MJP)