Compton Community College was one of the oldest and most ethnically diverse community colleges in California. The campus sits on 87 acres in south Los Angeles and has recently opened a major league baseball training academy for youths in the area that it serves. The campus has recently completed a new multi-million dollar student center that adds…

In this article, the author describes how keeping an academic journal has helped him to become a more insightful and relentless evaluator of his teaching expertise, and to acquire an academic conscience. The keeping of such an journal can inspire teachers to continually evaluate unrehearsed events and can help them get down to the true heart of…

Historically underpinning principles of the English curriculum framework for children from birth to five years explicitly acknowledged a spiritual dimension to children's uniqueness and well-being. Yet spirituality receives scant reference in the discourse of creative learning and teaching. This paper considers the relationship of…

The Toulmin model of argument was introduced in 1958 by British philosopher Stephen Toulmin in "The Uses of Argument" and adapted by compositionists in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Consisting of six parts--claim, support, warrant, backing, rebuttal, and qualifiers--the model provides a means for composition students "to describe the process by…

This article analyzes the ways in which emotions are constituted and mobilized by teachers to respond to growing diversity and multiculturalism in schools. The analysis is based on a two-year ethnographic study conducted in three Greek-Cypriot primary schools that are "multicultural". The following focus questions are addressed: (1) How do…

As early as 1935, librarians dreamed of seamless integration of information skills into the college curriculum. More than seventy years later, it is disheartening to note that only a select few universities have managed to fully embed information literacy (IL) throughout the curriculum in a strategic and pervasive manner. In a study of campus…

Background: Most previous research on beliefs on language learning (BALLs) has been focusing on tertiary level learners. Information of learners of other backgrounds is extremely lacking. Aim: To identify the BALL patterns of Chinese ESL learners undertaking vocational education in the Hong Kong context and to explore the possible influences on…

Manufacturing biodiesel fuel, building a geodesic-domed greenhouse, measuring the environmental impact of abandoned industrial canals--these might well fit the mission of cutting-edge companies specializing in green technologies, or they could be part of the curriculum at an institution of advanced science and engineering such as MIT or Cal Tech.…

This article presents an action research project focused on improving physical education (PE) for adolescent female students. One university researcher, three male PE teachers, and 13 of their most disengaged female students participated in the one-year, two-cycle, action research project. The process and results are offered so that future PE…

Encouraging students to be more vocal members of the response sequence can assist teachers in writing stronger comments on student texts. The author conducted a small-scale study of students' reactions to response formats, finding that students preferred formats that allowed teachers to elaborate on their comments, displayed teacher effort,…

This document represents the first in a series of design briefs on models for early college high schools. The briefs focus on the academic and organizational design of the college component and tie those key features to a sustainable financing model. By engaging students in up to two years of demanding college-level work while still in high…

This article draws on data gathered in a two-year English government-funded follow-up study of secondary school children who were permanently excluded from school and who did not return to mainstream settings. It reflects on recent debates concerning different forms of social exclusion and considers what forms of service provision might prevent…

Past research in the area of college retention shows that social and academic integration are important elements in ensuring high retention rates. Many past studies show that learning communities are beneficial in helping raise retention rates as learning communities effectively increase the rates of social and academic integration. The purpose of…

Sadly, amidst a vast profusion of knowledge, universities abrogate responsibility for showing young learners what is essential. Left to select for themselves, most students arrive late, if at all, to an awareness of what they want and need out of college. Thus, according to James Bernard Murphy, a well-constructed core of courses, presented in the…

Lyndon State College is a small, four-year public college in the rural Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. In an effort to improve its first-year retention rate, two years ago the authors began to analyze which students return to Lyndon for their second year of college. They found that more than 60% of the students were first-generation college students…