Writing Across Distances and Disciplines: Research and Pedagogy in Distributed Learning

201 Pages·2007·2.83 MB·English

by  Joyce Magnotto Neff

Writing Across
Distances &
Disciplines
Research and Pedagogy in
Distributed Learning
ER9462.indb 1 7/24/07 8:32:57 AM
ER9462.indb 2 7/24/07 8:32:57 AM
Writing Across
Distances &
Disciplines
Research and Pedagogy in
Distributed Learning
Joyce Magnotto Neff
Carl Whithaus
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
New York London
ER9462.indb 3 7/24/07 8:32:59 AM
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Taylor & Francis Group Taylor & Francis Group
270 Madison Avenue 2 Park Square
New York, NY 10016 Milton Park, Abingdon
Oxon OX14 4RN
© 2008 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
International Standard Book Number‑13: 978‑0‑8058‑5857‑0 (Softcover) 978‑0‑8058‑5856‑3 (Hardcover)
No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming,
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the
publishers.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
Neff, Joyce.
Writing across distances and disciplines : research and pedagogy in distributed
learning / Joyce Neff and Carl Whithaus.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978‑0‑8058‑5857‑0 (alk. paper)
1. English language‑‑Rhetoric‑‑Study and teaching (Higher) 2. English
language‑‑Composition and exercises‑‑Computer‑assisted instruction. 3. Distance
education‑‑Computer‑assisted instruction. 4. Interdisciplinary approach in
education. I. Whithaus, Carl. II. Title.
PE1404.N434 2007
808’.0420711‑‑dc22 2007011832
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
and the LEA Web site at
http://www.erlbaum.com
ISBN 0-203-87716-0 Master e-book ISBN
Contents
Figures and Profiles vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
1 Influences and Confluences: Distributed Learning, the Business
of Education, and Writing Across the Curriculum 1
A Landscape of Terminology 5
Clash of Cultures: Business, Higher Education, and Information Technology 7
Distributed Learning and Workplace Training 12
WAC and WID’s Potential for Distributed Learning 14
2 History Lessons: Tensions Between Customization and Efficiency 21
Customizing Delivery and Curriculum 23
Balancing Efficiency With Customization in Software 28
Past Tensions in Software Tool Development: A History of Errors,
Correction, and Writing 33
Future Tensions 36
3 The Transition to Distributed Learning: A Research Perspective
on Pedagogy 39
Recent Studies 40
Trajectory of Change in Research on Distributed Learning 47
Revising Paradigms for Distributed Learning Research 52
4 Teaching With WAC: A Redesigned Act in Distributed Learning 57
Pedagogical Considerations 60
Teaching as a Redesigned Act 72
Maintaining Balance While Redesigning Your Teaching Techniques 75

ER9462.indb 5 7/24/07 8:33:01 AM
i Contents
5 Process Scripts for Active Learning: WAC in Distributed
Environments 81
Process Scripts 82
Interaction and Active Learning 88
Communicative Interaction and Active Learning: Differences Between
Liberatory and Process-Focused Pedagogies 92
Communication as Alternative and Resistive Discourse 93
Structuring Asynchronous Communications 94
Evaluating Asynchronous Communications 96
Moving Closer to Process Scripts 98
Using Collaborative Learning and WAC in Distributed Environments 99
6 Complementing and Customizing: WID in Hybrid Environments 105
Complementing Face-to-Face Courses 106
Customizing Course Content for Individual Learners 110
7 WAC, WID, and the Business of E-Learning 117
The Value of Workforce Training and Lifelong Learning 119
Writing in Business and in School 125
Situated E-learning 129
Electronic Delivery of Learning 130
Learning From WAC, WID, and Writing at Work 133
8 The Future of Writing in Distributed Learning 137
Writing Across the Curriculum 137
Distributed Learning 138
Bridging the Divide 139
Higher Education in the Future 140
Researching WAC and Distributed Learning 143
References 145
Appendix A Glossary 159
Appendix B Resources 163
Appendix C MLA Endorsement of AAUP Statement on Distance
Education 165
Appendix D MLA Guidelines 167
Appendix E CCCC Position Statement 169
Appendix F Matrix Templates 175
Index 179
ER9462.indb 6 7/24/07 8:33:01 AM
Figures and Profiles
Figures
1.1 Collaborative Decision Matrix for a Program Delivered via Interactive
Television
2.1 Two Consecutive Pages from English 2600
3.1 Matrix of Change as Writing and Writing-Intensive Courses Are Converted
to Distance Media
5.1 Measures to Evaluate High and Low Structure Groups
F.1 Collaborative Decision Matrix
F.2 Matrix of Change as Writing Courses Are Converted to Distance Media
ProFiles
2.1 TOPIC at Texas Tech: A Paradox of Customization and Efficiency
3.1 Cultural Ecologies as Research Methods for Understanding IT
4.1 Open University as an E-University: Access and Quality
5.1 SAGrader: Using Software as a Process Script to Prompt
Communicative Interaction
6.1 Profile of New Century College: Integrated and Customized Learning
at George Mason University
7.1 Tidewater Tech Online: Providing Access Based on a For-profit Model
ii
ER9462.indb 7 7/24/07 8:33:02 AM
ER9462.indb 8 7/24/07 8:33:02 AM
Preface
Writing Across Distances and Disciplines: Research and Pedagogy In Distrib-
uted Learning has been taking shape for more than a decade. It began when Joyce
Neff stepped into a small TV studio in 1991 to teach a first-year composition
course to high school seniors who were concurrently enrolled at the local com-
munity college. The students could earn three college credits by attending class
on Wednesday afternoons once their regular high school classes were over for the
day. In many ways, getting the attention of tired 17-year-olds was more worrisome
than the technology. The course went about as well as could be expected. Some
students produced college-level essays, and some did not. Some class discussions
were energetic and purposeful; some were not. For the teacher, there were good
days and mediocre ones. Most important was the meta-analysis that took place
during and after the semester ended. Because the context was new, Joyce kept
teaching notes and posed questions about what she was teaching, how she was
teaching it, and whether she and the students were meeting course goals. What
role was technology playing? Why was the studio designed as a teacher-fronted
classroom? Who picked the software? What did production values have to do
with learning? What did research into distance education have to say? How might
information technologies developed for distributed learning be adapted as teach-
ing tools that would complement traditional, onsite courses? The experience was
not unlike traveling to a distant country. Joyce could take her expertise and con-
tent knowledge with her, but the cultural context was different.
In the years since that first interactive televised course, each of us has taught
from a distance numerous times using a wide range of delivery media. As reflec-
tive practitioners and researchers, we continue to analyze those experiences. This
book is a compilation of our meta-analyses of writing and writing-intensive (WI)
courses taught in distributed learning environments. What have we learned about
the histories of distance and distributed learning? What does our research and
that of others tell us? Can we mine the collective wisdom of composition scholars
and experts in writing across the curriculum (WAC) and writing in the disciplines
(WID) as we travel in new territory? As for the technology, how do we take a
critical approach, and what can we learn from workplace training initiatives in
which teaching with technology is routine?
ix
ER9462.indb 9 7/24/07 8:33:03 AM