The present study was an attempt to probe into the feasibility and effectiveness of a reading instructional approach called MCSR--Modified Collaborative Strategic Reading. Based on a pretest-posttest design, MCSR was implemented with 42 university-level EFL freshmen. They met once a week and received EFL reading instruction according to MCSR for…

Providing feedback is one of the foreign language writing teacher's most important tasks (Ferris, 2007). However there is less certainty about the techniques that should be used (K. Hyland & F. Hyland, 2006). This article reports on research that investigated the effects of two types of teacher feedback, on-tape and written, and of the absence of…

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…

Notes that as student enrollment in colleges and universities has increased, there has simultaneously been a proliferation of developmental skills programs. Presents some empirical evidence of the effectiveness of three reading skills courses. Suggests that underprepared readers' success in college is directly related to taking and passing a…

Determines whether postsecondary students with learning disabilities (LD) and/or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) experienced a differential increase in end-of-term grades when they used academic accommodations required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, with verbal Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores serving as a baseline predictor.…

Conducts two studies that asked whether undergraduates who attended one-to-one conferences on rough drafts improved as writers. Notes the first year focused on peer tutors, so few changes remained for students to make, and results were inconclusive; but the second year focused on a professional tutor. Finds 65% of revisions made afterwards were in…

Presents a case study of a developmental college freshman that shows a dramatic change in spelling over the course of several weeks after completing self-instruction materials on phonics. Concludes that this case gives hope for adults with poor spelling habits and solicits suggestions from college instructors who work with students having similar…

Considers three serious problems associated with learning styles: confusion in definitions, weaknesses in reliability and validity, and the identification of relevant characteristics in instructional settings, or aptitude-treatment interactions. Discusses four basic groups of learning styles that developmental educators should be aware of.…

Discusses how the writing classroom can impact students' understanding of self-identity. Notes how the writing classroom can affect student awareness of themselves as gendered individuals. Considers how teachers who effectively use writing activities in the classroom have the opportunity to increase power within the classroom for both female and…

Finds that students in both mandated and voluntary Supplemental Instruction groups (academic support led by peer facilitators) in a high-risk, required, freshman-level, writing-intensive United States History course earned significantly higher course grades and semester grade point averages than students in the non-SI group. Finds no significant…

Applies instructional strategies derived from the concept of mastery learning and cooperative learning to 104 undergraduate social science students enrolled in three sections of a required course. Finds significant effects for the combined mastery/cooperative learning condition, showing greater change in self-concept and higher achievement…

Finds that students in a comprehensive developmental studies program (study skills course and required attendance of tutoring sessions) exceeded their predicted grade point average significantly more than the comparison groups, and that instructors reported a greater number of positive behaviors on the part of these students in their classes.…

Notes that the effectiveness of tutoring as an intervention is controversial. Reviews research on college tutoring practices. Concludes that existing research provides some support for tutoring but does not address the issue of whether tutored students are eventually able to perform as independent learners. (RS)

Reviews research concerning computer-based reading instruction for college students. Finds that most studies suggest that computers can provide motivating and efficient learning, but it is not clear whether the computer, or the instruction via computer, accounts for student gains. Notes many methodological flaws in the studies. Suggests…

Presents a case study involving three incoming first-year community college students who were advised into developmental reading courses because of low scores on the Nelson Denny Reading Test. Finds that while the developmental reading course was beneficial for two of the students, it was found to be an unnecessary course for the third student.…