Notes the growing interest in optimizing students' literacy development through the integration of multiple sign systems as vehicles for learning. Suggests that the most important contribution that the endless categories of signs offer to the teaching and learning of literacy is the idea that the multiple communication modalities of sign systems…

Discusses fundamentals upon which continuing faculty development programs should be built to ensure effective teaching for college learning communities. Issues addressed include learning about learning, developing interdisciplinary approaches, developing teaching teams, attending to promotion and tenure issues (including the Boyer/Rice model of…

Discusses how to develop an effective assessment process for learning communities, including initial considerations, the value of student involvement, questions guiding the study, data management, and considerations for future studies. (EV)

Presents a method that involves the execution of a make-the-quiz exercise to inspire students to read for major facts and ideas in academic publications. Concludes that students take the instructor's perspective, internalize class performance standards, and hence voluntarily follow those standards in their attitudes and behavior toward learning…

Examines how "Drama in Fractionville" (a process drama created by 3 college students) is an example of how classroom drama can manipulate a complex artistic sensibility to succeed in both artistry and education. Concludes that it is possible for classroom teachers and drama leaders alike to create drama-based lessons that ask students to…

Describes a discipline-specific communication course for engineering students offered by a Canadian university. Suggests that a pedagogical approach based on North American theories of genre and theories of situated learning can be used to design communication courses tailored to the needs of any discipline under certain conditions. Lists three…

Presents a book excerpt that introduces the author's "Hope Is Vital" program and methods. Shares his vision and methods for creating performance workshops that actively investigate social concerns. Considers a series of gradually intensifying exercises leading from fun warm-ups to image-building bridge activities. (SC)

Focuses on one elementary school teacher during the Language Arts lessons of her student teaching, and focuses on a single conflict she had with the values of the school. Suggests alternative approaches emphasizing the importance of creating settings that support teachers who wish to teach in ways that their school structures discourage. (SC)

Describes how one short silent film, "The Painted Lady," may be used to build language and content knowledge in English-as-a-second-language (ESL) courses. Provides a representative list of titles and corresponding content areas to assist instructors in their efforts to incorporate silent film into ESL courses. (SG)

Incorporates recent conceptualizations of the reading process and implements an alternative assessment with hearing-impaired students. Presents the authors' work as educational evaluators in examining the use of techniques with Deaf students and reports the adaptations required for this population. Concludes that educators of the Deaf can benefit…

Draws on the experience of Northern Michigan University's implementation of a mandatory laptop policy and offers practical guidelines for integration of technology in the classroom. Discusses a model with three components--technology, teamwork, and teaching--that helped faculty migrate to a new, more interactive teaching paradigm. (EV)

Describes how sketch journals are used at various times throughout the day and consistently throughout the year in the author's classroom. Presents a demonstration of the theme of experience and the powerful role that it can play in helping teachers improve. Notes how the author encourages students to reach deeper and to enter their own doorways…

Considers if it is possible for fourth-grade teachers and their students to implement Collaborative Reasoning, an instructional frame that transfers much of the control over discourse to students, during their reading lessons. Shows that the teachers and students were generally successful at implementing the new instructional frame. (SG)

The improvement of international education in U.S. schools cries out for strong national leadership. The authors, guest editors of this special section, make the case that helping students become globally competent citizens is crucial to the future prosperity and security of the United States, and they discuss strategies for making this happen.…

The level of funding made available for pedagogical innovation, a function of external policy context, is important but not sufficient for effecting lasting change in higher education teaching.