Research in the Teaching of English, Vol. 35, No. 3, February 2001

Table of Contents

• EDITORS' INTRODUCTION: Considering Context

  Peter Smagorinsky and Michael W. Smith

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  Abstract: The editors note how the variant meanings of context shape research, and return to the etymology of the word to define context as a relationship among people and their settings, which typically include multiple sets of overlapping goals, values, discourses, tools, and other artifacts of social life. The articles appearing in this issue suggest the multiple ways in which attention to context can inform literacy research.

  Keywords: Elementary, Middle, Secondary, College, Literacy, Research

• Of Magic Doors There Is This . . .

  Diane Stephens

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  Abstract: Considers the doubts the author has had about the design of an award winning study, focusing especially on a researcher's obligation to help the teachers with whom the researcher is working, even at the risk of jeopardizing a study's design. Traces the way that her engagement with that question has led to her current professional commitments.

  Keywords: Elementary, Middle, College, Professional Development

• Considering the Contexts for Appropriating Theoretical and Practical Tools for Teaching Middle and Secondary English

  George E. Newell, Randy S. Gingrich, Angela Beumer Johnson

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  Abstract: Describes some of the tensions and challenges that nine student teachers faced as they attempted to apply theoretical tools or principles for teaching middle and secondary school English to the realities of practice. Suggests the importance of understanding the kind of. relationships that student teachers develop within each setting and how social settings get negotiated and identities get constructed.

  Keywords: Middle, Secondary, Research, Professional Development

• Exploring the Impact of a High-Stakes Direct Writing Assessment in Two High School Classrooms

  Jean Ketter, Jonelle Pool

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  Abstract: Explores the effects of a high-stakes, direct writing test on three teachers and their students. Suggests that an emphasis on test preparation diminished the likelihood of the teachers' engaging in reflective practice that is sensitive to the needs of individual students, and that the high-stakes assessment process discounted the validity of locally developed standards for assessing writing.

  Keywords: Secondary, Assessment, Pedagogy, Research, Standards, Writing

• Children's Development and Control of Written Story and Informational Genres: Insights from One Elementary School

  Carol A. Donovan

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  Abstract: Describes the intermediate forms of children's informational and story composition across the elementary grades. Finds that even the youngest children differentiated between the genres with over half of all kindergartners and first graders producing texts classified at some level of organizational complexity above labels and statement, and by second grade all but a few children did so.

  Keywords: Elementary, Assessment, Literacy, Pedagogy, Research, Writing

• Announcing the Alan C. Purves Award Winner (Volume 34)

  Thomas M. McCann, Dianne Chambers, Evelyn Hanssen, Susan Howell, Lisa Cross Stanzi

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: College, Research

• GUEST REVIEWERS

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: College, Research

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