Education Commons^™

Teaching Better, Teaching Together: A Coordinated Student Exit Poll Across The States, Jennifer Kelkres Emery, Alison D. Howard, Jocelyn Evans

Alison Dana Howard

Creative Writing And An Overlooked Population, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

As a regional institution, our university's historic mission is to train area teachers who must operate under the auspices of the Kentucky Educational Reform Act, which mandates extensive writing portfolios i Grades 4,7, and 12. While these portfolios may include as much as 50% creative writing or work employing creative writing techniques, a recent survey of teachers responsible for guiding students revealed that not a single teacher had ever taken a course in creative writing pedagogy and only a handful had even had any formal training in creative writing. We suggested that this lack of teacher training was one reason …

Collaboration: Advocacy For School Change, Cynthia Strong

Cynthia Strong

Adolescent literacy is a looming issue in secondary schools. Being able to read, comprehend, and write is imperative for students to understand the content of their classes and textbooks. According to Michael Kamil, professor of psychological studies in education and learning at Stanford University, "we almost need a trauma center to take care of this problem, it's that serious for kids that can't read...It's the number-one factor standing in the way of their graduating" (Manzo-Kennedy). Given the importance of literacy, this article provides a story of how a high school media specialist on the east coast sought to collaborate with …

Creative Writing And An Overlooked Population, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Charlie Sweet

As a regional institution, our university's historic mission is to train area teachers who must operate under the auspices of the Kentucky Educational Reform Act, which mandates extensive writing portfolios i Grades 4,7, and 12. While these portfolios may include as much as 50% creative writing or work employing creative writing techniques, a recent survey of teachers responsible for guiding students revealed that not a single teacher had ever taken a course in creative writing pedagogy and only a handful had even had any formal training in creative writing. We suggested that this lack of teacher training was one reason …

Ako Ako: A Progress Report On A Collaborative Peer Mentoring Pilot Programme, Chrissy Joyce-Erueti, Rhona Poutu-Shaw, Khurshid Mitchell

Chrissy Erueti

We present a progress report on a pilot peer-mentoring programme for staff at a tertiary institution. Ako Ako is a Maori methodology of learning that acknowledges that both partners share the power base of teaching and learning. Peer mentoring replicates this methodology and requires a paradigm shift from traditional mentoring where one is deemed to have higher levels of knowledge and skills. In this process the group engages in an exchange of knowledge and skills to enhance professional practice. Although mentoring was occurring within the institute, no formal structure was in place. A need was established and a framework to …