This article considers what 'minimal' might mean in the context of using minimal computing tools in the humanities classroom. Specifically, it recounts experiences teaching students to make websites using Jekyll, a popular minimal website generation tool, using different understandings of 'minimal.' In one, students were encouraged to use a Web…

Composition researchers have become increasingly concerned with the issue of knowledge transfer: the use of knowledge and skills learned in one setting to complete tasks in a different setting. In terms of writing-related knowledge transfer, research suggests that rigid rules and formulas for writing do not transfer as successfully as flexible…

We compared the performance of Hispanic students from California, Texas, and Arizona on the two Advanced Placement (AP) English exams (i.e., English Language and Composition and English Literature and Composition) using archival data from the College Board from 1997 through 2012. Pearson chi-square tests yielded statistically significant…

Teacher-written editorial columns in local newspapers can challenge the broad, simplistic conceptions of the profession that have been encouraged by contemporary politics and that obscure the real work of teachers. The publication of such columns written by a diverse group of teachers in the West Texas Writing Project has proved an important tool…

To help students meet the demands of society, the University of Houston is using the framework of learning communities and constructivism to create a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching to provide media-rich thematically linked courses to engage a diverse student population. A case study investigated three semesters of thematically linked…

Presents the results of a survey of the freshman composition requirements in two- and four-year Texas colleges, and examines the implications of the results. (R B)

Performance was examined for five cohorts of 1998-2002 Texas public high school graduates through their first year and 1998-2001 cohorts through their fourth year of Texas public higher education. Student performance on college outcomes included (a) first- and fourth-year grade point averages (GPAs), (b) first- and fourth-year credit hours earned,…

THE RISING WORKLOAD OF ENGLISH TEACHERS FOSTERED THIS FEASIBILITY STUDY WHICH USED DICTATING MACHINES TO TRANSMIT TEACHER COMMENTS ON COMPOSITIONS TO STUDENTS. APPROXIMATELY 600 STUDENTS IN 30 SECTIONS OF FRESHMAN ENGLISH WROTE PRE- AND POST-EXPERIMENTAL THEMES. IN CONTROL SECTIONS, TEACHERS GRADED ASSIGNED THEMES IN THE TRADITIONAL WAY WITH…

Conditions of language and literacy are considered by a Texas educator and presented at a 1982 hearing held by the National Commission on Excellence in Education. It is noted that a 1979 policy at the University of Texas system established a freshman-level remedial English course for credit. At the University of Texas, San Antonio, this course is…

A STUDY ON EDUCATING MIGRANT CHILDREN CONCLUDED THAT A 6-MONTH SCHOOL PROVIDING THE SAME INSTRUCTIONAL TIME AS A 9-MONTH SCHOOL WOULD BETTER SERVE THESE CHILDREN. AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED A NONGRADED CONTINUOUS PROGRESS CURRICULUM GIVING PRIORITY TO ENGLISH, THEN MATHEMATICS, AND THEN SOCIAL STUDIES. DETAILED CURRICULUM OUTLINES ARE…