This homework study was undertaken to assess current homework practices in the Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) and the extent to which homework is utilized as a tool for effective instruction. Twelve elementary schools, six middle schools, and six high schools divided among low, middle, and high achievement levels were…

This study evaluates student attitudes about the use of portfolios in an English composition course. During the course of a semester, students in an English 101 course at Central Arizona College compile a portfolio of their compositions. Included in the portfolio is a rewrite of the first assigned paper (P-1). The P-1 paper was due the second week…

Describes a small-scale study of newly enrolled Open University (Great Britain) students regarding their views of nontraditional strategies for assessment and for maximizing openness through the use of questionnaires and interviews. Topics include self-assessment; peer assessment; fixed deadlines for course assignments; independent thinking; and…

Describes the contending rhetorics of two basic objectives for assigning students the task of writing research papers. Considers the assigning of research papers a problematic exercise. Provides student responses concerning their conceptions of research writing. Considers what teachers might do to change student perception of research assignments.…

A study investigated the attitudes of 99 British first-year college students toward peer and self-assessment and preferred teaching and learning approaches, including student-centered learning, teacher role, and negotiation of assignments. Self-evaluation was found to be more realistic than peer evaluation. Students also preferred guidelines for…

In a college world affairs course, the teacher acted as foreign policy/national security advisor to the president and assigned students as staff members for different geographic regions. Students briefed him daily, first on current events, then on specific issues. Students enjoyed the challenging assignments, intensive questioning, and policy…

Examines the benefits of group discussion in English classrooms. Demonstrates how small group discussion yields qualitative learning among participants and enhances questioning skills. Advocates the growth and challenge that can come from such activities. Provides student discussion transcriptions. (HB)

Describes the author's experiences teaching composition to inmates at a women's minimum security prison. Describes how these students wrote with alacrity and passion, using writing as a tool to solve problems and enlighten. Discusses how mandated curriculum and assignment requirements were met, revisions made and issues of dialect discussed, while…

Describes a library instruction program developed at Southwestern University (Texas) that is part of a required freshman symposium for all first-year students. Topics include library assignments; reading lists; problems; feedback from students and faculty; and possible future changes in the course. (LRW)

As an increasing number of U.S. corporations position themselves for international competition, the demand for cross-culturally competent employees is expected to rise. However, reports suggest that graduates of U.S. business schools lack cross-cultural skills, prompting employers to recruit international students. The authors designed a study…

"Homophobia Prevention" is a two-week social studies mini-unit. The purpose of this mini-unit is to raise awareness and understanding levels surrounding heterosexism and heterosexual privilege. Additional student goals for the mini-unit include forming connections between heterosexism and other forms of oppression, as well as identifying…

Assessment data from both an FYE-infused general education course (N = 153) and a first-year seminar (N = 392) were analyzed to identify students' perceptions about projects that required significant participation in out-of-class activities as an integral part of the course. The results from this analysis revealed that in addition to increasing…

Professional literature reporting the use of the "cliff-hanger" as genre as a teaching tool in writing instruction is relatively quiet. College students may become better writers and readers when they write cliff-hangers and allow other students to read their writing. Sixty-five undergraduate reading students at a southeastern Arkansas…

This document describes a form of curriculum infusion for college instruction in which information about alcohol and other drug problems relevant to the content of a course is provided and related assignments are made. Specifically, the paper focuses on an English writing assignment that involved student self-reflection on his or her use or…

Reports findings of an investigation in New South Wales (Australia) of the different demands made on pupils by the kinds of writing tasks they were required to attempt from primary to secondary school. (HOD)