Research in the Teaching of English, Vol. 35, No. 4, May 2001

Table of Contents

• EDITORS' INTRODUCTION: Classroom Performances

  Peter Smagorinsky and Michael W. Smith

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Argues that what matters in being a good student is not an innate set of skills and dispositions but an understanding of what, where, when, and how to perform through particular situations. Teachers set the ground rules for what kinds of performances are acceptable in the classroom, and a classroom is a contact zone in which different sets of values, skills, and expectations coexist. The articles in this issue demonstrate how teachers and students manage to negotiate this contact.

  Keywords: College

• "Look, Karen, I'm Running Like Jell-O": Imagination as a Question, a Topic, a Tool for Literacy Research and Learning

  Karen Gallas

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Examines the role of imagination in literacy learning. Moves from a look at how imagination makes itself visible in children's work to a conceptual structure that proposes an inside-out theory of literacy learning. This structure presents identity, discourse appropriation, and the authoring process as essential elements that are unified through the imaginative actions of students as they come into contact with the texts, tools, and props of each discipline.

  Keywords: College

• Playing the Game: Proficient Working-Class Student Writers' Second Voices

  Hannah Ashley

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Four case studies of proficient undergrad writers from working-class backgrounds were conducted in the context of a course preparing students to be tutors for first-year basic writers. In contrast to much of the theorizing by and about working-class academics that emphasizes loss, these students' narratives focus on gaming. Students show a great degree of agency, an awareness of themselves as writers, and a stance of tricking teachers.

  Keywords: College

• The Question of Authenticity: Teaching Writing in a First-Year College History of Science Class

  Stuart Greene

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: This research examines what it means to teach writing and what it means to write in a first-year university course in the history of science. The data raise the question of whether disciplinary courses in writing provide an authentic alternative to general writing skills courses, particularly if in such classes students are introduced to critical thinking and argumentative writing in college.

  Keywords: College

• Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English

  Deborah Brown, Judy Kalman, Anne D'Antonio Stinson, Melissa E. Whiting

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Twice a year RTE publishes a selected bibliography of recent research in the teaching of English. Most of the studies appeared during the six-month period preceding the compilation of the bibliography, but some studies that appeared earlier are occasionally included. The listing is selective; we make no attempt to include all research and research-related articles that appeared in the period under review.

  Keywords: Assessment, Diversity, Language, Literacy, Literature, Pedagogy, Research, Technology, Writing, Reading, Elementary, Middle, Secondary, College, Professional Development

• GUEST REVIEWERS

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Research, College

• Author Index

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Research, College

• Subject Index

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Research, College

* Journal articles are provided in PDF format and can be opened using the free Adobe® Reader® program or a comparable viewer. Click here to download and install the most recent version of Adobe Reader.