Persistent conceptual bugs exist in how novices, from primary school to college age, program and understand programs. These bugs are not specific to a given programming language but appear to be language-independent. The three different classes of bugs are: (1) parallelism, the assumption that different lines in a program can be active at the same…

Discusses two intriguing ways of explaining error in student writing--the work of Michel Foucault and the work of Roland Barthes. Describes in-class activities and essay assignments that use these perspectives to help students to reach improved understanding of error in writing. (SR)

Illustrates, categorizes, and analyzes typical mathematical errors in algebra and trigonometry made by high school and lower division college students. (16 references) (Author/MKR)

Examines the sometimes puzzling behavior of writing teachers as they look for errors in language usage. Questions whether many of these teachers would notice the occurrence of certain features they call errors if they were not searching for errors in the first place. (RL)

Examines students' amusing responses to essay test questions, while maintaining that such responses can still give a teacher a better indication of what students are learning in the classroom than can objective tests. (HTH)

Discusses two types of student writing problems: error characteristics (spelling, pronoun usage, subject-verb agreement, run-on sentences, and capitalization) and nonerror characteristics (density of ideas, variety of referents, and variety of expression). Suggests ways to diagnose and correct them. (HTH)

Considers the existence of halo effects in individuals' evaluations of target communicators across different dimensions. Notes that halo effects result from raters' inability to discriminate among conceptually distinct and theoretically independent aspects of a target's behavior. Discusses current conceptions of halo error and suggests several…

Asserts that distinction between "error" and its social implications is false and that research and teaching based on that distinction is flawed. Considers how errors might be viewed as social in their production and correction, examines two ways in which this is elided in the literature, and explores how a social view of error might inform…

Argues that the internal organization of collection development and the nature of science and scholarship lead to inevitable gaps in collection development. The structural and intellectual causes of collection development gaps are analyzed, and a number of areas whose literatures are especially vulnerable to being ignored or overlooked by…

Attention is called to the apparent widespread misunderstanding of algebraic notation by secondary school students, and how this may arise from some common approaches to teaching algebra to beginners is discussed. (MNS)

Analyzes the metaphors and theories used by instructors to conceive of their work with students labeled as "basic writers." Posits alternative metaphors for these students. Discusses theoretical and pedagogical approaches to written "error." Argues for a redefinition of the "territory of basic writing" as…

Seven graduate students in a seminar on classroom computing received instruction in LOGO programming. Programming protocols were collected periodically and examined for errors and misconceptions; in-depth interviews were conducted in order to understand specific misconceptions better. As novice students transit from instruction to experience in…

Illustrates the pitfalls of French grammar and syntax by reproducing a student's composition, which mangles the language. Draws from similarly frustrating experiences and from a "New York Times" article entitled "The Fumble-rules of Grammar" to compile a list of "General Principles for the Improvement of Oral and Written French Expression." (MES)

Argues that English-as-a-Second-Language writing can have its own distinctive power and eloquence in spite of, and sometimes because of, its errors. Examines several different kinds of "poetic" nonnativisms, suggesting why they were created and why they may strike native speakers as especially expressive. (SR)

Examines four topics in composition research that are pertinent to journalism instruction: writing as process, writing across the curriculum, modes of instruction, and dealing with errors. (FL)