As a new Ph.D. preparing for his first university appointment in June 2006, the author began constructing World History I and II surveys for which his graduate training left him feeling underprepared. Among the myriad challenges, he sought to create a research assignment for general education students that would address a diverse range of…

This research compared the written compositions of 16 adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders and 16 neurotypical control participants, and examined the influence of theory of mind on their writing. Participants ranging in age from 17 years to 42 years, matched on Vocabulary subtest scores from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale…

After completing the Multidimensional Work-Ethic Profile (MWEP), 98 college students were given a 20-problem math computation assignment and instructed to stop working on the assignment after completing 10 problems. Next, they were allowed to choose to finish either the partially completed assignment that had 10 problems remaining or a new…

Creativity is the central source of meaning for humans and is inseparable from critical thinking. Creativity and critical thinking are required in the fields of communication, public relations, and advertising. Most college students know the "rules" of the "game" of schooling, but for the majority, creativity has been all but extinguished by the…

In the contentious debate over the use of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in education research, little attention has been given to how methodological issues arise and/or are resolved in the implementation of random assignment. Following a review of the methodological-theoretical literature on RCTs and alternative research designs, this article…

Concerns about the relation between critical and creative writing are reviewed in the context of encouraging students to engage in both kinds of writing as a response to literature in undergraduate degree courses. In particular the paper seeks to illustrate and promote good practice in the integration of creative and critical written responses to…

Plagiarism is a reality in most college classes where some students plagiarize unknowingly and others do so knowingly. This situation requires instructors to decide how to manage the situation. Some may take the easy way out by ignoring the problem, simply pretending that none of their students plagiarize. In contrast, other instructors embrace…

There are many different kinds of words in the English language. Instruction in grammar and syntax helps young writers sort out when to use a plural or singular noun, or when to use an apostrophe. Silly Stories, a variation of a popular party game, reinforces the importance of word choice and conventions in writing. This article describes a…

Using conversation analysis as a methodological and analytical framework, this study presents a sequential analysis of disagreement episodes in small group interactions in an advanced academic writing class. Closer scrutiny of the sequences reveals that in order to bring disagreements to a close, participants make use of an array of interactional…

In this age of standardization, many English teachers are unsure about how to incorporate creative writing and thinking into their classroom. In a fresh new voice, Luke Reynolds emphasizes that "creativity in our lives as teachers and in the lives of our students is one of our most vital needs in the 21st century." Based on his own journey as an…

This qualitative study increases the understanding of how students with emotional disturbance (ED) demonstrate their grasp of key elements of social studies instruction. While there is considerable research in the general education literature on how students grapple with various social studies concepts and methodology, there is a void in…

Critical thinking continues to be an educational concern even though many school systems, educators, and academic articles have stressed its importance. To teach critical thinking, teachers need to learn what it is and how it is taught. It is unknown to what extent critical thinking skills are taught and assessed in classrooms. The purpose of this…

Language teachers, as one might expect, are often confronted with the task of assessing and grading students' assignments, which should ideally be addressed with respect to not only reliability and validity, but also functionality. Based on Knoch's (2011) taxonomy features with regards to design and development of writing assessments, an analytic…

Assessments of instructional quality based on classroom observations and artifacts have the potential to measure and improve mathematics instruction and learning. This article describes the Instructional Quality Assessment (IQA) Mathematics Toolkit and examines its ability to identify the nature and quality of classroom instruction. The IQA…

While lecture demonstrations have been conducted in chemistry classrooms for hundreds of years, little research exists to document the frequency with which such demonstrations are employed or their effect on learners' motivation and performance. A mixed-methods research study was performed, using quantitative and qualitative survey data, along…