Widely adopted Common Core State Standards emphasize textual analysis and writing "about" texts (Bomer & Maloch, 2011), but provide little guidance on "what" students should read beyond general references to traditional literature (fables, folktales, and myths) and informational texts. However, as Meek (1988) and others…

While textbooks remain a key part of the teaching and learning process, evidence suggests that student completion of reading assignments is lower than teacher expectations. Although there is a small body of literature examining textbook use, studies relating specifically to marketing textbooks are sparse. This article seeks to explore how…

While education abroad programs are part of an emphasis to prepare university students to be more interculturally competent, one criticism is that programs often send students overseas without adequate preparation. This study aims to explore what students have learned from education abroad programs and how their stories might reveal the need for…

Recently, scholars have suggested that "second-language writers" are made up of two distinct groups: Generation 1.5 (long-term U.S.-resident language learners) and more traditional L2 students (e.g., international or recently arrived immigrants). To investigate that claim, this study compares the first-year composition writing of…

Today's undergraduates are clearly comfortable as consumers of technology and new media--purchasing ring tones for their cell phones and tunes for their iPods, text-messaging from handheld devices, scanning and tinkering with photos, keeping up with their Facebook friends and watching viral YouTube videos, sometimes all simultaneously. We share…

Reading professionals at the college level have long taught their students multiple and varied strategies to master textbook reading and learning. Students are continuously encouraged to adapt their strategies to the discipline and the type of text they are reading. Now that students have the option to complete at least a portion of their academic…

This descriptive study investigates the ways that students in an Ancient History class make meaning of past events by relating them to their present lives and experiences. The study is grounded in theories of historical thinking, particularly focusing on the concepts of presentism and its usefulness for examining classroom teaching. The following…

Writings around a/r/tography have frequently focused on research, methodology, and artistic purposes. This article foregrounds the pedagogical lens of a/r/tography and outlines six features of a/r/tography as pedagogy in theatre teacher education. The paper reports findings from an investigation into the experiences of a university instructor of a…

As a new Ph.D. preparing for his first university appointment in June 2006, the author began constructing World History I and II surveys for which his graduate training left him feeling underprepared. Among the myriad challenges, he sought to create a research assignment for general education students that would address a diverse range of…

This research compared the written compositions of 16 adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders and 16 neurotypical control participants, and examined the influence of theory of mind on their writing. Participants ranging in age from 17 years to 42 years, matched on Vocabulary subtest scores from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale…

After completing the Multidimensional Work-Ethic Profile (MWEP), 98 college students were given a 20-problem math computation assignment and instructed to stop working on the assignment after completing 10 problems. Next, they were allowed to choose to finish either the partially completed assignment that had 10 problems remaining or a new…

Creativity is the central source of meaning for humans and is inseparable from critical thinking. Creativity and critical thinking are required in the fields of communication, public relations, and advertising. Most college students know the "rules" of the "game" of schooling, but for the majority, creativity has been all but extinguished by the…

In the contentious debate over the use of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in education research, little attention has been given to how methodological issues arise and/or are resolved in the implementation of random assignment. Following a review of the methodological-theoretical literature on RCTs and alternative research designs, this article…

Concerns about the relation between critical and creative writing are reviewed in the context of encouraging students to engage in both kinds of writing as a response to literature in undergraduate degree courses. In particular the paper seeks to illustrate and promote good practice in the integration of creative and critical written responses to…

Plagiarism is a reality in most college classes where some students plagiarize unknowingly and others do so knowingly. This situation requires instructors to decide how to manage the situation. Some may take the easy way out by ignoring the problem, simply pretending that none of their students plagiarize. In contrast, other instructors embrace…