This article takes up the "special strangeness" of grading practices in the graduate creative writing workshop, based on the author's research, personal experience, and interviews with the faculty of her doctoral creative writing program. Using a structure of notes, the author attempts to make sense of the way grades are understood by both teacher…

Grantmakers for Education's Principles for Effective Education Grantmaking identify "innovation" and "constant learning" as a core proposition for achieving results in education philanthropy. To illustrate this principle, "Learning by Doing" examines the Noyce Foundation's efforts to apply new information to its…

In 1996, the State University of New York at New Paltz developed the Supplemental Writing Workshop Program for its basic writing students in response to public pressure to discontinue the offering of so-called remedial writing courses at four-year institutions. Our primary purpose in this article is to describe the design of the SWW Program, which…

Describes how four teachers used a pilot program of incorporating art into a writing workshop, as described in several related articles in this issue. Notes the experiences with its development, the integration of teaching and learning, the challenges faced, and a presentation to the National Council of Teachers of English convention. (SG)

Describes a teacher's experiences in rural Brazil as she delivered a 5-day inservice teacher education workshop on incorporating writing into the curriculum. Notes that the minister of education, a student in the course, announced that she intended to expand the program by having volunteers from among current workshop members serve as mentors for…

This article discusses the benefits of an author-in-residence program in assisting students to develop and enhance their reading skills. The author presents several basic guidelines in planning for an author's school visit, which include seeking staff assistance in selecting an author, determining the length of the residency, and making the…

A writing workshop held during a school holiday in an urban center in Southern Africa illustrated the premise that writing experiences with literary patrons can result in benefits for young authors. The workshop was planned with the purpose of encouraging children to write in a setting that emphasized the establishment of a children's library, a…

Collaboration for some English teachers has proved to be the key to effective professional development. Teachers working together on evaluating the effectiveness of a writing workshop in the high school classroom have helped them gain knowledge about their beliefs and practices.

This brochure makes a case for devoting more attention to writing, and demonstrates through recent research results that the National Writing Project (NWP) has had a positive impact on teachers and students across the country. Independent national scorings of student writing show that NWP student improvement out paces that of students in carefully…

Since 1994, the University of South Carolina at Columbia and the Wirtschaftsuniversitat Wien (Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration) have offered a joint master's degree in international business. Communication instruction was initially a stable component of the program, with a week-long course at the beginning and a…

Monroe County Community College (MCCC), in Monroe, Michigan, developed a "Writing Across the Curriculum" program in response to perceived deficiencies in the writing and critical thinking skills of its students. Major features of the program include a Writing Center located in the Learning Assistance Laboratory and Writing Fellows…

Even after acting on the best available information to make a grantmaking decision, a grantmaker should seek to learn from grantees, remain adaptable to new ideas and open to unexpected learning, and willing to admit when grants do not turn out as expected. To this end, Grantmakers for Education's Principles for Effective Education Grantmaking…