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Brinkley appointed to national review board

Aug. 8, 2008

KALAMAZOO--A professor at Western Michigan University is among a handful of English education specialists nationwide appointed by the College Board to an important review panel.

Dr. Ellen Brinkley, professor of English, is serving on the College Board's Advanced Placement English Course and Examination Review Commission. She is among a dozen members nationwide who will review current College Board documents related to high school courses--one in literature and another in composition--and realign those documents according to current and emerging best practices in teaching English.

Those selected as commission members are regarded as experts in the area of teaching and learning in English. The panel met for the first time in April and will meet again later this month, with subsequent meetings in the fall and in the coming year. Members are conducting a study that began with a survey of best practices in introductory-level college English composition and literature courses. They are reviewing survey data and will make recommendations regarding possible curricular or structural changes for advanced placement English courses.

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 5,400 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations.

Brinkley has been serving on the College Board's English Academic Advisory Committee for several years. She also was the primary author of the board's English Language Arts Framework.

In addition to teaching, she directs the National Writing Project's Third Coast Writing Project at WMU, which draws together teachers from across the region to offer classroom-tested, research-based strategies that support teaching and learning at all levels and in all content areas.

Media contact: Mark Schwerin, (269) 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu

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