Teaching English in the Two-Year College - Volume 32, Issue 3, 2005

This article examines the ideological assumptions and practical consequences of recent state and federal attempts to standardize writing instruction at the secondary level, and it suggests alternative forms of assessment and classroom research available to teachers of composition in high school and college.

This study follows the progress of 238,032 students who enrolled in either an ESL composition, a developmental composition, or a college composition course at one of nine community colleges for a minimum of three and a maximum of eleven years.

Rotating teacher participation in peer workshop groups can enhance the workshop group dynamics, ease instructors’ grading loads, and improve the level of peer feedback and draft revision in composition courses.

Interclass collaboration in the context of an in-depth interdisciplinary discussion and analysis of global problems yields significant benefits in the development of ESL students’ sense of efficacy, their literacy, and their critical thinking skills.

The author finds that letting students see his own struggles with reading encourages them to feel greater confidence and eases the way for productive interventions in the process.

This essay examines the internal and external challenges two-year college English faculty face in gaining recognition for the work they do in the field of composition.