Calculus is one of those topics in mathematics where the algorithmic manipulation of symbols is easier than understanding the underlying concepts. Around 1680 Leibniz invented a symbol system for calculus that codifies and simplifies the essential elements of reasoning. The calculus of Leibniz brings within the reach of an ordinary student…

This paper reports a project researching the interplay between a formal assessment system on the one hand and the development of students' and teachers' work in the actual assessment process on the other. Applying a social practice perspective, empirical data from the first year of an engineering programme mapped the assessment process through…

Presents 10 techniques teachers can use to help stutterers manage their fluency problems. (MM)

Describes a journalism course that focuses on the issue of plagiarism, emphasizing that the problem is much deeper than a simple misunderstanding of documentation. Lists seven common citation errors that students make and discusses the excuses they give to defend them. Suggests six ways that journalism faculties can address the problem. (JD)

Explores the difficulties writing teachers and students encounter with content area writing assignments, using observations and interviews from two social science classes. (HTH)

Describes the writing problems of a poor, black, urban student who wants to succeed in college but doesn't know how. Asserts that language use, particularly the use of Black English, plays a major role in their lack of academic success. Offers drills and strategies to help with this problem. (PRA)

Examines the ways English teachers might try to make progress with uninterested and/or problem students. Narrates one teacher's experience with a particular male student, and how she partly got through to him. (HB)

An exploration of writing anxiety suggests that it is a normal form of behavior rather than a pathology, but that it varies in degrees of its dysfunctionality. Excerpts from the log books of college students in a writing anxiety workshop illustrate four broad categories of writing anxiety: procrastination, feeling emotionally distressed, thinking…

Describes a writing instruction project called the "landmark method" that fosters writing skills in students with learning disabilities. Outlines specific strategies that have proven effective in teaching writing to students with dyslexia or other learning disabilities. (HB)

The main kinds of difficulty experienced by disabled students and the many practical ways they have been approached are summarized. The important role played by the Open University, given necessary resources and sufficient flexibility, is meeting the needs of students who would otherwise find study almost impossible. (LBH)

This paper explores the characteristics and problems many language learning disabled (LLD) and dyslexic students have in college and suggests ways for college English composition teachers to help them. LLD students are often poor spellers and their handwriting looks like that of a younger child. Constant difficulty with certain grammatical…

Part of a project of the small college interest group of the Central States Speech Association investigating problems of speech departments in small colleges, this paper reviews the findings of two workshops conducted by the Association of American Colleges and the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education on problems of black students…