Economic success and commitment to the social benefits of inclusive training opportunities are important goals for public Vocational Education and Training (VET). Currently in Australia, VET policy is a shared responsibility between the Commonwealth and the States and Territories. Priorities for investment are juggled between improving efficiency…

Contextualized teaching and learning (CTL), or the concept of relating subject matter content to meaningful situations that are relevant to students' lives, offers one promising approach to helping students learn more effectively. This brief offers instructors, college leaders, policy makers and funders a high-level summary of the CTL…

This article presents a summary of the main findings of a national literature review completed as part of a larger study of basic skills effective practices. The study summarized here was commissioned by the California Community Colleges System Office with the purpose of conducting a comprehensive review of national literature and identifying…

Teachers' proscriptions and pet peeves contribute to artificiality in students' writing. (DD)

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)

Proposes as a follow-up to an article on controlled composition for basic writers a necessary bridge between strict copying and independent composing. (HTH)

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)

Teaching grammar to freshman composition students can be accomplished without turning the class into a remedial course or expending an undue amount of either student or teacher energy. Before grammar can have meaning for students, however, writing itself must become important to them. The teaching of the mechanics of language, therefore, should…

The purpose of this paper is to describe basic skills students in relation to their participation in basic skills and their success in transitioning to college-level classes, and the momentum they gain towards college success from this participation. In the period of time covered by the data used for this analysis, 24 colleges offered I-BEST…

Examines the underlying causes of the failure of writing courses for skills-deficient students, especially as they relate to composition texts and teaching methods based on them, and suggests new approaches. (DD)

Writing critical reviews forces students to practice the two important forms of discourse that are part of the basics that teachers have been asked to get back to: exposition and argumentation. (Author)

Introductory courses in acting and directing should be combined. (CH)

Describes the use of summary writing as a combined project for college reading and writing courses for basic skills students. Includes student samples and handouts. (HTH)

Results of this study indicated calculator algorithms can serve as an effective alternative instructional strategy where computational skill is an instructional goal. (MP)