By intertwining narratives, journals, interviews, and traditional analysis and argument, this book offers an ethnographic account of a diverse group of community college faculty working together to revise their writing center's tutor protocols and expectations for student writing. In doing so, it takes postsecondary writing teachers to the place…

This document addresses the fact that community colleges have received little attention in research literature. The biggest gap in research is about community college instructors who teach the most and least prepared students through honors and developmental courses. Data was gathered from a national survey the professional practices and attitudes…

Examines students' responses and comments on facilitative (helping the student rethink a paper analytically) versus directive commentary (teacher suggestions made in an authoritative manner). Argues that directive commentary has several legitimate uses and that its judicious use can coax students into writing stronger text. (SR)

Describes a first-day assignment for writing courses called a "writing autobiography" in which the student is asked to identify and assess their own strengths and weaknesses as writers. Argues for the value of having students consider their processes as writers. (HB)

Offers seven brief descriptions of class projects and assignments used successfully in writing classes of all sorts, from first-year composition classes to business communication to computerized writing labs. (SR)

Presents comments and reflections by winners of this journal's Best Article of the Year Award. Includes 15 winners and their discussions about their articles. (SC)

Young children learning English are biased to attend to the shape of solid rigid objects when learning novel names. This study seeks further understanding of the processes that support this behavior by examining a previous finding that three-year-old children are also biased to generalize novel names for objects made from deformable materials by…

This report presents findings from a rigorous evaluation of the Life Skills Training Program (LST) in Los Angeles County. LST provides 30 hours of life skills training over five weeks to foster youths ages 16 and older. The classes are held on community college campuses throughout Los Angeles County. The program is staffed by workers tasked with…

Transfer has been a central mission in American community colleges since their inception. Understanding the success of the transfer mission as it relates to student academic preparation; institutional and organizational structures, strategies and practices; intersegmental programs; and state policies has been a continuing quest over the several…

Developmental courses in English, math, and reading have an important purpose in higher education, especially in the open-access world of community colleges. These classes--also referred to as "remedial"--are intended to give less-prepared students a chance to catch up and meet the challenges of college-level coursework. However, nationwide…

Argues that after a decade of intense concentration on the theory and practice of writing, it is now important for literature to reenter the composition classroom and to become part of a course that teaches "language skills" as a continuum. (FL)

A regularly administered employee opinion survey is an important institutional outcomes measurement tool. It can provide robust benchmarks and standards for a whole range of dimensions of a healthy workplace. This kind of survey should also be a critically important component of the process of engaging employees in the development of the…

Assesses faculty and staff development needs in Alabama's two-year colleges. Indicates that faculty and staff have a primary interest in development in the following areas: instruction-related skills; collaboration; organizational issues; and technology. Contains three data tables, three appendices and 18 references. (JDI)

In a promising gesture of diversity, the Modern Language Association has been welcoming community colleges (CC) into its conference agendas. Since this sector constitutes the majority of college teachers, and a silent one at that, it could furnish valuable perspectives to the Association. What are these perspectives? To begin with, take the…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pair problem solving technique incorporating Polya's problem solving strategy on undergraduate students' performance in conceptual and algorithmic questions in chemistry. The subjects of this study were 89 students enrolled from two first year chemistry classes. The experimental group was…