Considers why the traditional research paper seems to have been part of the English curriculum forever. Provides a glimpse at what teachers in the past have done to alter its teaching and final format and provides a background against which English teachers may want to reevaluate and reinspire their own teaching of the research paper. (SG)

The Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The overarching goal of the Plus 50…

This essay demonstrates how the concept of multiple intelligences (MI) can be applied to college composition. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, published in 1983, started a revolution in education, but the application of this theory to teaching college writing was slow in coming. For the most part, writing teachers are comfortable in the…

By focusing on local problems or issues, student writers can craft research essays that exemplify civic engagement, a practice that reaffirms composition's tacit tradition from classical rhetoric and the educational philosophy of John Dewey. Volunteer experiences or local problems that affect students directly allow writers to actively research…

Once considered pariahs by many in higher education, parents are fast becoming their prized partners. Whether public or private, small or large, two- or four-year colleges, institutions are actively catering to parents, hoping to turn them into an essential student support system--and enthusiastic donors. For colleges and universities, increased…

It is well established that monolingual preschoolers' oral language development (vocabulary and oral comprehension) contributes to their later reading abilities; however, less is known about this relationship in bilingual populations where children are developing knowledge of two languages. It may be that children's abilities in one language do…

Community colleges are enjoying a rare moment in the limelight right now. But part of what is being revealed by that light is just how much scrambling two-year institutions must do to keep up with increasing demands and decreasing budgets. With the recession sending many laid-off workers back to school for job retraining, and with President Barack…

This article describes the profound changes experienced by the author during the two years she spent as part of the 52nd Street Project Teen Ensemble, playing the part of "Julia" in Shakespeare's musical play "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." The author reports the difficulty of playing the role, since the character was so…

This paper is based on action research carried out in a primary school in Scotland where few bilingual learners shared their home language with classmates or staff. It investigated the educational experiences of bilingual children in the early stages of primary school, in which there were often practical difficulties supporting isolated learners…

This study explores the transfer of assessment practices from f2f to online environments by college instructors, with a particular interest in the factors influencing assessment in online learning settings. Assessment is a critical aspect of the learning environment, and considerable research has suggested various methods of formative and…

Two first-year engineering mathematics courses used computer-aided assessment (CAA) to provide students with opportunities for formative assessment via a series of weekly quizzes. Most students used the assessment until they achieved very high (>90%) quiz scores. Although there is a positive correlation between these quiz marks and the final…

The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive research study was to determine, through statistical analysis, any correlation between the perceived transformational leadership traits of CIOs at two-year community colleges in Kansas and measures of the job satisfaction among IT workers at those community colleges. The objectives of this research…

An advanced analytical chemistry undergraduate laboratory module on microfluidics that spans 4 weeks (4 h per week) is presented. The laboratory module focuses on comprehensive experiential learning of microfluidic device fabrication and the core characteristics of microfluidic devices as they pertain to fluid flow and the manipulation of samples.…

This research study investigated student and institutional variables associated with timely degree completion of the associate degree by community college students. Along with increased community college enrollments, time to degree has also increased. Three years (150% time or six semesters) currently stands as the community college standard for…

Attempts to define what "college-level" writing is. Argues that acknowledging the full range of complexities related to "college-level" writing is a necessary first step toward engaging in productive dialogue about it. Suggests that educators change the term "college-level writer" to "college-level reader, writer, and thinker." (SG)