Much of the work in academic writing has focused on the cognitive rather than the affective and social aspects involved in project-based writing. Emphasis in past research has been on skills and processes of writing rather than on affective factors such as motivation, attitudes, feelings or social factors involving intrapersonal and interpersonal…

Peer evaluations are often used to improve learning in educational settings. As more and more online courses are offered, it is becoming increasingly important to explore new techniques for conducting peer evaluation in online courses. In recent years, wikis have increasingly been used in higher education to support learning and group work.…

A case study is presented of embedding research in a final year undergraduate, field-based, physical geography module. The approach is holistic, whereby research-based learning activities simulate the full life cycle of research from inception through to peer review and publication. The learning, teaching and assessment strategy emphasizes the…

This article shows how current mathematical research and innovative internet technologies such as wikis and email discussion lists can enliven a senior seminar or capstone course. We give example of assignments as well as examples of how new technologies can enhance a course. This paper grew out of the author's experience of teaching a senior…

A significant amount of attention has been given to the predictors of academic achievement in higher education. However, the vast majority of articles have centred on entrance criteria and the learning approaches or personal habits of students. Investigations into how achievement depends on student efforts, being almost invariably based on…

Dutro discusses an analysis of the disconnect between the material realities of the lives of a group of third-grade children living in poverty and the middle-class assumptions of a district-mandated unit within a literacy curriculum. The analysis arose in the context of an ethnographic study of identity and classroom literacy practices; it was…

In spring semester 2009, two of the authors taught LIB 5020--Information Sources & Services to graduate library science students at Appalachian State University. The course covers information seeking patterns and provides an overview of reference services. The course is also designed to examine and evaluate library reference materials and…

Schools are expected to lead in physical activity promotion for youths. Specifically, physical educators are being asked to take on the role of the school physical activity director (PAD) and implement a comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP). Quality physical education, classroom-based physical activity, recess and other activity…

Prob,In this meta-analytic review, the authors summarized the effects of depression prevention programs for youth as well as investigated participant, intervention, provider, and research design features associated with larger effects. They identified 47 trials that evaluated 32 prevention programs, producing 60 intervention effect sizes. The…

Computer technology is expanding our profession's conception of composing, allowing visual information to play a substantial role in an increasing variety of composition assignments. This expansion, however, creates a major problem: How does one assess student work on these assignments? Current work in assessment provides only partial answers to…

The authors maintain that developing an awareness of the skills and tasks involved in proficient reading is necessary in the middle grades and that success with these skills and tasks develops through peer interaction and meaningful activity, not through teacher-dominated discussion. To that end, in this column, the authors introduce the…

The issue of homework is now uppermost in many parents' and teachers' minds. Researchers are questioning homework's effectiveness as an educational tool. Policy makers are thinking twice about what to do about it while kids have their fingers crossed. In two national surveys conducted by the authors, they have discovered a wide range of…

This essay describes Louisiana State University's search for an alternative to available placement protocols. Under the leadership of Les Perelman at MIT, LSU collaborated with four universities to develop iMOAT, a program for administering online assessments of student writing. This essay focuses on LSU's On-line Challenge, which developed from…

Not too many years ago, right about the start of the new millennium, the TAMU-CC Writing Center began to pull away from the model of a center that focuses mostly on individual consultations and began to build a greater sense of the place of the Writing Center in the larger university Writing Community. In this article, we share how we have built…

This qualitative study investigated the relationship between adolescents' sense of school belonging and opportunities to integrate aspects of their identity with their 9th-grade English assignments. The study provided evidence of a positive relationship between these two experiences for an ethnically diverse group of students. Moreover, issues of…