Describes a cooperative learning activity in which groups of students learn to critique content, form, and style of a student-produced newspaper, doing so constructively and without blaming, scapegoating, making excuses, or name-calling. (SR)

Describes how two teachers have translated scholarship in the fields of ritual and performance studies into classroom practices (for the college literature course) that engage students in ritual enactment of imaginative literature and in communal making of meaning. (SR)

Describes teaching methods and techniques found to be useful by practicing teachers, including midsemester written evaluations of teachers by students; telephone conversations and poetry; reading journals and assigned reading materials; grammar handbooks aimed at students, not teachers; and student conferences with their writing teachers. (HB)

Describes Ken Macrorie's I-Search paper system as an alternative to the traditional research paper. Explains the process of creating an I-Search paper step by step. Emphasizes the importance of the editing process. Concludes with a list of steps to become a writer, and the importance of acknowledging that an I-Search paper is a team effort. (PA)

Discusses the use of response journals in an English-as-a-Second-Language class to help the diverse student population learn about each other's cultures as they share journal entries in a multidirectional and active learning process. (SR)

Describes a project in a desktop publishing course in which students work with nonprofit and campus organizations to design brochures that fulfill important needs. Discusses specific tools students use. Describes the brochure project, project criteria, clients, text and graphics for the project, how to evaluate the project, and guidelines for…

Uses the medium of descriptions of TV movies to describe how thematic teaching can be achieved in the different academic disciplines. Presents specific theme ideas. Discusses how an actual activity of TV movie summary descriptions emphasizes vocabulary development and reading comprehension. Describes specific reading skills promoted by this…

Provides a step-by-step guide for teaching business communication students how to research public and private companies. Presents a sample assignment that provides a context for practicing these research skills. (SR)

Describes a project assignment for a business communication course that is the central organizing principle for the course and addresses researching, interviewing, writing and reporting topics, and the inevitable question of why this course is required. (SR)

Notes important distinctions between "hands-on" experiences and "first-hand" experiences. Argues that teachers need to consider the kinds of learning that books, hands-on experiences, and first-hand experiences provide for students, and the roles they play in the creation of curriculum. (SR)

Describes part of a college reading and study-skills course that instructs students in using library and computer laboratory resources. Notes the importance of helping students recognize that achievement takes time. Appends four course assignments. (SR)

Describes the content and pedagogy of a three-week unit using "Kwanzaa" to validate the Swahili roots of African American cultural heritage. Emphasizes that Kwanzaa is a holiday of principles that applies to all students by emphasizing community, purpose, and personal and collective action. (RS)

Gives instructions for a theater exercise that involves a student lip-synching to a song. Cautions that the presentation must be balanced equally, with attention paid to both realism in the actual lip-synching, and to how the performer gives meaning to the song. States that students generally should not try to emulate well-known performers. (PA)

Presents an experiential exercise that engages students in a quality audit and applies focus group techniques. (SR)

A survey of 360 teachers showed that many teachers are voluntarily using their own money to support their classroom work. On average, the teachers surveyed spent $444 annually; teachers nationwide may be spending more than $1 billion annually. Respondents' comments ranged from outrage and frustration with lack of available funds to acceptance of…