Exploring Instructor Perceptions of and Practices for Public Discourse in First-Year Writing Courses
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| Title: | Exploring Instructor Perceptions of and Practices for Public Discourse in First-Year Writing Courses |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Parrott, Jill, Green, Lucas, Kaiser, Jordan, Smothers, Cody, Rodgers, Sam |
| Source: | CEA Forum. Win-Spr 2019 48(1):234-267. |
| Availability: | College English Association. Web site: http://www.cea-web.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 34 |
| Publication Date: | 2019 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research Tests/Questionnaires |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Writing Instruction, Freshman Composition, Writing Skills, College Faculty, Teaching Methods, Writing Assignments, Communication Skills, Public Speaking, Skill Development, Information Literacy, Teaching Styles, Teacher Attitudes |
| ISSN: | 0007-8034 |
| Abstract: | A central objective of many writing courses is to prepare students to effectively communicate in their personal, professional, and public lives, but writing instruction can seem disconnected from contemporary societal practices that constitute civil public discourse. This project aims to explore the connections between instructors' perceptions and understanding of public discourse in relationship to the first-year writing classroom and the manners in which those views manifest (or do not) in course materials. To collect and chronicle the theories of civil public discourse and its role in the composition classroom, the first-year writing instructors at a regional mid-sized, liberal arts public university were presented an opportunity to participate in part or all of a three-phased research process, which included responding to a survey, engaging in an interview, and submitting course materials for review. The research team hypothesized that instructors would self-report a belief in public discourse as an important goal of first-year writing but that the explicit teaching of public discourse would not be evidenced in course materials such as policies, syllabi, assignments, and teaching philosophies. A qualitative review of the data confirms the research team's hypothesis: while the instructors they spoke with strongly agreed that public discourse should be--and is--an important part of first-year writing courses, the pedagogical materials they reviewed reflected very little practical application of that goal. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2019 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1235799 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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