The Reading-Writing Thinking Connection: Your Thoughts Your Voice

The Reading-Writing Thinking Connection: Your Thoughts Your Voice puts into your students' hands a unique educational innovation - "Thinking-Centered Education." The title of this book has been chosen to communicate a clear sense of what they will experience as they progress throughout the term in your college English class.

Students will learn to use 16 specially-designed Tools from Our Thinking Toolbox, which help them to think through and gain an understanding of a wide range of reading materials, and to write an investigative article for which they create a plan, conduct research, and report findings about a specific problem they consider to be of great importance.

These 16 Tools will stimulate your students' independent thinking in a disciplined way, and guide them to examine perspectives from authentic texts in six discipline areas: education, social issues, history, philosophy, science, and psychology. The ideas and information in these areas will be indispensable to their continued journey through higher education.

The activities, assignments, and projects that make up the 20 Seminars in this book are expressly designed to be adaptable to online/distance education just as well as when used in "face-to-face" classroom settings. Each Seminar has a thematic design consisting of an Opening Activity (OA), Main Activity (MA), Closing Activity (CA), and Homework (HW) that provides a clear and logical structure for you and your students to work through and adapt as needed.

Students' thoughts, feelings, and ideas about a wide variety of topics and problems need to be heard and given expression as a contribution to the common good and their own well-being. The goal of the content and design of this book is for your students to be able to think independently, work collaboratively, inquire with focus, and express their ideas and thoughts (voices) with confidence.

The Reading-Writing Thinking Connection: Your Thoughts Your Voice will create a "Culture of Thinking" in the classroom. Your students will come to see that they have minds that can think, and think very well, when given the chance. They will come to recognize reading and writing as natural and vital human activities that are valuable to them, both in their education and in their lives.

Joel Levine is the dean of the School of Language and Literature at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California and was awarded an Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Sylvia Garcia-Navarrete is a professor of reading and ESL at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California and was awarded an Ed.D. from San Diego State University.

William Borman was formerly a professor of philosophy at La Guardia Community College in New York and Grossmont College in El Cajon, California and was awarded a Ph.D. from the City University of New York.

Yuki Yamamoto is a professor of ESL/JFL at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon, California and Southwestern College in Chula Vista and was awarded a Masters Degree in TESOL from United States International University.

Suzanne Borman was formerly a professor at the Hofstedler School of Education, Alliant International University in San Diego, California and was awarded an Ed.D. from Teacher College, Columbia University.