Concentrates specifically on the experience of using "Maus" (a narrative in comic strip form) with one class which met in spring 1996, after the accidental killing of a Black child by a Hasidic Jew in Crown Heights, New York. Uses the text at Medgar Evers College in a freshman composition course which also functions as an introduction to…

Argues that the computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) community should adopt a stronger orientation to other social science disciplines, particularly psychology. Greater attention to psychological literature provides three benefits: well-validated principles about human behavior in group and organizational contexts relevant to CSCW research;…

Based on a five-year ethnographic study of the activity of an online, international academic community of practice supported by ListServer technology, this article covers selective findings pertaining to patterns of communication deemed crucial to community building. Implications of learning and collegial support are discussed. (Author/AEF)

To help reluctant high school readers, a ninth-grade teacher modified a pedagogy called the Socratic Seminar (the Paedeia Approach) based on the work of Mortimer Adler and Dennis Gray. A Socratic Seminar is a focused discussion on a short piece of writing. The process is explained. (MLH)

Describes a classroom demonstration of the illusory correlation effect (people often subjectively overestimate how often two distinctive events occur together) that replicates a classic experiment on illusory correlation. Explains that the demonstration illustrates the role that basic cognitive processes play in developing social stereotypes. (CMK)

Focuses on the author's desire to create student-led discussion groups, instead of teacher-led groups. Considers specific research questions for student-led groups. Inquires what kinds of writing and discussion students would engage in if given the opportunity to make their own writing/discussion choices. Indicates that students do engage in…

Describes a role-playing exercise in which students take on one of three roles, either the prejudiced speaker, responder, or social observer, in order to explore a prejudiced comment in a mock interaction. Considers different topics for the postexercise class discussion and student reactions to the exercise. (CMK)

Examines the poor professional preparation of college students for postgraduate employment. The article maintains that students are unprepared to teach upper-division courses in second-language instruction. A lecture series to address problems in teaching these courses was developed and offered as a minicourse. (CK)

Describes a teaching technique that can be used to open a discussion about suicide. The life events of a fictional individual are mapped on a timeline and examined with the class, after which the instructor informs the students that the person committed suicide at a young age. Student reaction is usually quite strong. (MDM)

Shares a participant-observer's close look at small group experiences in a course called "American Experience" taught at an urban university. Considers the issue of how race can be discussed in the classroom when even collaborative approaches with emphasis on student contributions can be undone by the power of the dominant discourse. (TB)

Offers a theoretical perspective on how and why different ways of talking about text can be so important for helping readers develop and for learning to read literature. Details a model of language use within the classroom and considers implications of the model for the instruction and assessment of language and literacy. (SR)

Considers the role of the "white ground" in English studies at a critical period, the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the discipline, along with the rest of the academy and country, struggled mightily with issues of race. Describes the author's interest in constructing a narrative about the relationships between discourse and identity…

Examines Listserv, a package for distributing email to a group of subscribers for the purpose of discussion. Notes the popularity of listservs among teachers and scholars in computers and composition. Suggests few users are aware of constraints the software places on the rhetorical situation. Explains how a Listserv is configured, decisions list…

Describes a two-part unit for middle school students that focuses on gesture. Students (1) create puppets using oak tag and brass fasteners, (2) trace the gesturing puppets into a drawing, and (3) decorate the puppets they originally created. (CMK)

Highlights an elementary school where teachers help children build good reading lives by teaching reading through literature circles. Discusses five essential strands of thinking that guide the teaching of reading through literature study: building community, reading literature, having choices in reading, participating in open and lively…