The Journal Book: For Teachers of At-Risk College Writers

Educators across the grades and across the curriculum have long recognized the usefulness of journals to help student writers. But what about basic writers, learning-disabled students, and nontraditional and returning students? One of the values of journal writing is its accessibility, yet no one has seemed to consider how at-risk students might benefit. With this new collection, the first of its kind, Susan Gardner and Toby Fulwiler provide much-needed advice.

The authors of these essays are all experienced teachers of at-risk writers, both at two- and four-year colleges. They know the at-risk students they are describing. Some readers will recognize the students as "basic" writers in basic writing courses. Others will find chapters written by writing center directors who serve a variety of students we might term as "at risk." There are also chapters from educators who work specifically with Deaf students, ADHD students, and learning-disabled students. Each one describes uses of the journal and the adjustments to the assignment that make the journal such an accessible and instructive writing genre.

Toby Fulwiler directs the writing program at the University of Vermont, where he also teaches composition and literature courses. Editor of The Journal Book (1987), Fulwiler is also author of College Writing: A Personal Approach to Academic Writing, Second Edition (1997) and coeditor, with Art Young, of Programs That Work: Models and Methods for Writing Across the Curriculum (1990) and Writing Across the Disciplines: Research into Practice--all published by Boynton/Cook.

Susan Gardner, Associate Professor of Education at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, has been a high school teacher, director of a college writing program, and Writing Coordinator for the Faculty. Gardner conducts workshops for elementary through college faculty across the curriculum on how to use writing effectively in the classroom. She has used journals extensively in her teaching since the early 1970s.