12 books match the query 'Terms'
Patricia Lynne
Utah State University Press, 2004
In a provocative book-length essay, Patricia Lynne argues that most programmatic assessment of student writing in U.S. public and higher education is conceived in the terms of mid-20th century positivism. Since composition as a field had found its most compatible home in constructivism, she asks, why do compositionists import a conceptual frame for assessment that is incompatible with composition theory?
By casting this as a clash of paradigms, Lynne is able to highlight the ways in which each theory can and cannot influence the shape of assessment within composition. She laments, as do many in composition, that the objectively oriented paradigm of educational assessment theory subjugates and discounts the very social constructionist principles that empower composition pedagogy. Further, Lynne criticizes recent practice for accommodating the big business of educational testing—especially for capitulating to the discourse of positivism embedded in terms like "validity" and "reliability." These terms and concepts, she argues, have little theoretical significance within composition studies, and their technical and philosophical import are downplayed by composition assessment scholars.
There is a need, Lynne says, for terms of assessment that are native to composition. To open this needed discussion within the field, she analyzes cutting-edge assessment efforts, including the work of Broad and Haswell, and she advances a set of alternate terms for evaluating assessment practices, a set of terms grounded in constructivism and composition.
Coming to Terms is ambitious and principled, and it takes a controversial stand on important issues. This strong new volume in assessment theory will be of serious interest to assessment specialists and their students, to composition theorists, and to those now mounting assessments in their own programs.
Debra N. Mancoff
J. Paul Getty Trust, The, 2024
Susanne Gänsicke
J. Paul Getty Trust, The, 2019
Shallenberger, David
Rutgers University Press, 1998
In a world in which religion and homosexuality are often by definition incompatible, it is crucial to hear from gay men and women about how they perceive themselves to be religious or spiritual people. Eliciting powerful, frank, and sometimes troubling responses, David Shallenberger interviewed gay men and women who grew up in families that belonged to traditional religions-Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Protestant-that rejected homosexuality as an unacceptable life-style. When these children grew into adulthood and "came out," many rejected the religion of their childhood as they sought out a more accepting gay community. But once they became comfortable with their new gay identity, they began to experience a spiritual hunger and a desire to be part of a religious community. Some sought to return to the traditions from which they came; others desired membership in new religious communities.
The quest for an integration of homosexuality and spirituality is the focus of Reclaiming the Spirit. Shallenberger asks how individuals can balance both a gay and a religious identity, whether coming out is a spiritual experience, and how coming out affects an individual's relationship to a traditional religious community. Divided into chapters that correspond to the common stages of spiritual integration, Reclaiming the Spirit is immensely readable and introduces an important group of voices into the hotly contested debates surrounding religion and gay participation.
Corinne Tan
University College London, 2018
Bogdan C. Iacob
Central European University Press, 2015
Bruce Horner
Southern Illinois University Press, 2016

Jill Emery
American Library Association, 2020
Alberto Toscano
Seagull Books, 2023
Ian Merkel
University of Chicago Press, 2022
Henk Beentje
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2010
This accessible, comprehensive glossary covers all the descriptive terms for plants that one is likely to encounter in botanical writing, including everything from magazine articles to plant field guides, scientific papers, and monographs. An essential companion, it presents 3,600 botanical terms, accompanied by full definitions and detailed illustrations to aid in identification, all laid out in a clear, easy-to-use fashion. It will be indispensable for plant scientists, conservationists, horticulturists, gardeners, writers, and anyone working with plant descriptions, plant identification keys, floras, or field guides.
Elizabeth Cassell
University of London Press, 2021