Adult proficiency in numeracy in the United States lags that of other developed nations, and the nonselective institutions that dominate the higher education sector struggle to address the learning needs of the sizeable proportion of students who enroll in their institutions and are deemed academically underprepared in mathematics. Research on…

Describes several strategies, all based on letters written between teacher and students, that build a sense of community and collaboration in college developmental reading and writing classes, helping students to see themselves as active learners and thinkers. (SR)