Professors Joliffe, Goering Provide Teachers' Academy With ACT Prep

Two University of Arkansas professors teamed up this spring to provide a series of six sessions for northwest Arkansas teachers to help them prepare their students for the ACT English and reading sections.

David Jolliffe, who holds the Brown Chair in English Literacy, and Chris Goering, assistant professor of secondary English and literacy, addressed the topics:

• What teachers need to know about English grammar to help students succeed on the ACT English test.
• How to foster meaningful, intelligent discussions with Socratic seminars. The Socratic method emphasizes enabling students to think for themselves rather than giving them the "right" answers.
• How to teach essential principles of close, analytic reading that students need to use on the ACT reading test.

About 30 teachers came from middle schools and high schools in Bentonville, Bergman, Berryville and Siloam Springs. They earned professional development credit.

Jolliffe teaches in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and Goering teaches in the College of Education and Health Professions. They, along with their students, have collaborated on several projects, including the Arkansas Delta Oral History Project.