Lessons Learned from Four Online Writing Courses in Professional and Technical Writing David W. Price Concordia University
[email protected] Delivered at The Seventh Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for the Study of Discourse and Writing ( CASDW) on June 1, 2015 1
How do we explore online writing courses? • • • • •
Google searches for professional writing degrees Recruit 4 courses based on availability and consent Semi-‐structured interviews Walkthroughs of each course Multiple case study analysis using Activity Theory
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Who prompted development of online writing courses? • Administrators made all requests: – 1996 supplement limited classroom space – 2008 add to a portfolio of online offerings – 2012 provide a regular teaching assignment
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What shapes the development of online writing courses? • • • •
People Using mental (and other) tools Within a changing community To achieve a motivation
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Who created the online writing courses?
Albert
Robert
Lawrence
Charles
Dept
English
Legal Studies
Education
Writing & Rhetoric
Writing
Technical
Legal
Educational
Proposals
Teaching
13 years
18 years
14 years
15 years
Online experience
No
Yes, from a prior university
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How does Albert’s technical writing course work? Albert Dept
English
Writing
Technical
Size
30 undergrads
Prof bulletins & debriefs
Physical textbook
10 quizzes, 5 posts and responses
Individual writing in MS Word x 3
Prof grades against rubric (30%)
Prof grades once against rubric (70%)
Prof offers one personal conference 6
How does Robert’s legal writing course work? Robert Dept
Legal Studies
Writing
Legal
Size
1-‐2 lawyers
Coordinator assigns contractor
Contractor sends welcome email
PDF readings online
20 Ungraded exercises online
Individual writing in MS Word x 5
Contractor sends email prompt if no work
Contractor grades once against rubric (100%)
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How does Lawrence’s educational writing course work? Lawrence Dept
Education
Writing
Educational
Size
30 undergrads
Prof sends welcome and general tips
Lecture videos and PDF readings online
Ungraded exercises online
Reading comp questions x 8
Discussion posts (non-‐ interactive)
Individual writing in MS Word x 4
In person Final Exam
Contractor grades 4 out of 8 sets (12.5%)
Contractor completion (7.5%)
Contractor grades once against rubric (40%)
Contractor grades once against rubric (40%) 8
How does Charles’s proposal writing course work? Charles Dept
Writing & Rhetoric
Writing
Proposals
Size
13 graduates
Prof intro to clients
Prof bulletins & debriefs
Physical textbook
Discussion posts, responses, Peer review
Prof grades against rubric (40%)
Collaborative writing in Google Docs – pieces result in funding proposal
Sent to client for comments
Prof grades formative and final vs. rubric (60%)
Prof offers group tele-‐ conferences 9
What kinds of tools do people use to build online writing courses? Tools
Robert & Lawrence Legal & Educational
Mental Model Self-‐study workbook
Albert Tech writing
Charles Proposals
Social interaction
Curriculum
Existing course materials
Existing course
New design
Pedagogy
Product
Product
Process
Software
MS Word Moodle or Custom
MS Word Canvas CMS
Google Docs Canvas CMS
Readings
Online PDFs, videos
Physical textbook
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How do tools affect design? Workbook-‐style
Social-‐interaction
Development
6-‐8 months
40-‐150 hours
Cost
$47k-‐50k plus salary
Prof’s salary
Grading
Contractors
Profs
Development Focus
Developing content
Scaffolding interactions
Online focus
Consuming content Ungraded exercises
Discussing and using content
Writing Focus
Individual products, one-‐time assessments
Either individual products or Collaborative process
Adaptability
Difficult and costly to change
Easy to change 11
What influenced changes in Albert’s tech writing course?
Trigger
Change
Pre-‐online motivation
Access motivation
Achievement motivation
teach technical writing to tech majors
growing population & lack of classrooms
College students guaranteed admission to N/A upper year courses
Create online version
Reduce content and add detailed rubrics to help “bottom 2/3”
campus instruction
Community motivation
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What influenced changes in Robert’s legal writing course?
Trigger
Pre-‐online motivation
Access motivation
Achievement motivation
Community motivation
teach legal drafting to Commonwealth lawyers
Licensed course from NGO to offer as a diploma
NGO wishes to broaden usability
NGO wishes to create an open resource
Create online version
Plain language, gender-‐neutral examples, more consistent instructions, fancier web layout
Considering open access, Wiki style community input
Distance course Change (paper, then CDROM)
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What influenced changes in Lawrence’s educational writing course?
Trigger
Change
Pre-‐online motivation
Access motivation
Achievement motivation
Community motivation
Teach educational writing as undergrad elective
Add a writing course to online portfolio
TA shifts from catching to preventing problems
New instructor shifts from handholding to interaction
Create online version
New form Stopped integrating prompts, self/TA feedback form checklists, paste Implemented in assignment “peer review” using discussion Specific tips before/after forum each assignment
campus instruction
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What influenced changes in Charles’ proposal writing course?
Trigger
Pre-‐online motivation
Access motivation
Achievement motivation
Community motivation
teach proposal writing
By 2012 online expected by working professionals
N/A (offered once)
Meet non-‐profits who need grant funding
N/A Change (from scratch)
Create online version
Create client-‐ based service learning course
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Lesson: mental models shape format 1. Reason for going online was linked to a mental model – Padding a portfolio resulted in workbooks – meeting core needs resulted in social interaction
1. Mental models shaped development – Workbooks slow, expensive, content-‐focused – Social interaction fast, adaptable, pro-‐active 16
Lesson: people (not tech) drive change 3. Profs addressed problems by amplifying vs. changing their existing philosophy (eg. more handholding) 4. Innovations were triggered by newcomers and designing from scratch (open access, peer review, client-‐service) 5. Differences in philosophy changed how the same tool was used (using collaborative features, force-‐ fitting peer review into a workbook) 17
Lesson: motivation shapes (and re-‐shapes) a course and its success 6. Community changes broadened motivations to improve access, achievement, community integration 7. Due to low course evaluation response rates, courses considered successful if meet then-‐ current motivation
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