Discusses two intriguing ways of explaining error in student writing--the work of Michel Foucault and the work of Roland Barthes. Describes in-class activities and essay assignments that use these perspectives to help students to reach improved understanding of error in writing. (SR)

Urban school superintendents hold one of the most important and challenging jobs in America's education system. The Council of the Great City Schools (GCS) represents the majority of large urban school districts in the country. Though there are approximately 17 thousand school districts in the country, the Council's 65 districts serve…

Discusses how defining key terms in context helps students understand and retain concepts. Considers how implementing small-group discussion dramatically changed the classroom dynamics and involved more students in the discovery process. Finds that in small peer groups, students are more inclined to ask questions and help each other clarify their…

This study focuses on the narratives of two women leaders, one of whom continues to work as a community college president and another who made the transition from a community college presidency to the directorship of a continuing education division of a large, state research university. The women were first interviewed in 2000 when they discussed…

This study investigates the validity of the Diagnostic College English Speaking Test (DCEST) in the context of EFL teaching and learning in China. The experiment was conducted in three stages over the course of eight weeks at a national key university in China. By means of test administration and questionnaire survey, the researcher gathered…

Ivy Tech State College (Indiana) is the statewide two-year college system in Indiana, with 23 campuses and a fall 2002 enrollment of 64,110 credit students and approximately 13,000 non-credit students. Ivy Tech has a long history of offering certification training and, in some cases, testing, in a variety of areas from health to business and…

In recent years, considerable concern has arisen over issues of intercultural competence (IC) in relation to English education in the fields of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or English as a Second Language (ESL), due largely to globalisation. However, relatively little qualitative research has been conducted on EFL teachers' beliefs and…

The annual "Horizon Report" describes the continuing work of the New Media Consortium's Horizon Project, a qualitative research project established in 2002 that identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative inquiry on college and university campuses within the next five years. The…

Describes a project for composition classes in which groups of five to six students conceive, write, design, print, and bind a book of their writings. Discusses methodology, defining form and content of the books, offering guidance, use of in-class time, evaluation, grading, and the results. Notes that the quality of student writing dramatically…

Gaining entry to a college of engineering is something that most people who eventually become engineers must do. However, for some this is not the straight-forward process for which a prospective student might hope, and because of this the authors are interested in how students navigate the process of admissions. In this study the authors are…

Students feel more comfortable in a new language when they understand its jokes. And when the jokes are puns, they build metalinguistic awareness. This article describes four categories of English puns--soundalike puns, lookalike puns, close-sounding puns, and texting puns--and suggests how they can be incorporated into English language…

This article speaks to teachers who have been paired with native speakers (NSs) who have never taught before, and the feelings of frustration, discouragement, and nervousness on the teacher's behalf that can occur as a result. In order to effectively tackle this situation, teachers need to work together with the NSs. Teachers in this scenario…

A two-year police science training program offered by technical institutes and community colleges in North Carolina will keep law enforcement officers abreast of new developments in the field. It includes instruction in typing, English, and math. (HH)

Argues that, as decision makers, students must sort out their rhetorical contexts to determine whether a sentence needs the active voice or the passive voice. Notes that one source for finding realistic sample sentences for learning about the passive voice is the daily newspaper, and offers examples from the business section, sports page,…

Suggests that despite culturally induced aversions, aromas do have a role to play in writing instruction. Suggest there are many examples in literature of authors' treatment of the olfactory sense. Argues that emphasizing smell as a writing stimulant and encouraging olfactory analyses of literary works can serve as valid ways of introducing…