Committee Charge
This committee is being created to develop a set of best practices for online writing instruction. The committee charge is to:
- identify and examine best strategies for online writing instruction in hybrid and distance-based composition classrooms;
- identify best practices for using various online media and pedagogies (e.g., networked classrooms, e-mail and Internet-based conferences, peer-reviewed papers) for the teaching of writing with both synchronous and asynchronous modalities and taking into consideration currently popular learning management environments;
- identify best practices for using online writing instruction for English language learners; and
- identify best practices for training and professional development of online writing instructors.
- File reports twice a year prior to the CCCC and NCTE conference meetings using the Report format; and compose a post for the CCCC web site that communicates your ongoing work. NCTE staff will see that your text is posted on your committee's behalf.
The committee has created a listserv open to all faculty members and administrators interested in online writing instruction. To subscribe to the listserv, email cccc@ncte.org.
2009 CCCC Session Review
Read a review of the session we presented at the 2009 CCCC Convention titled "CCCC Committee Research into Best Practices for Online Writing Instruction (OWI)."
Annotated Bibliography
The CCCC Committee on Best Practices in Online Writing Instruction has gathered, reviewed, and annotated webtexts, articles, and books from 1980 through early 2008 that help us better understand those approaches and strategies that are most effective in OWI and compiled them into an annotated bibliography (pdf).
March 2009 Update
This committee has developed an annotated bibliography of the materials currently available that speak to best practices in OWI. This bibliography, which soon will be posted to the CCCC website for membership use, will serve CCCC members as a resource for research and teaching. We expect that members will be invited to assist with updating and maintaining the bibliography.
We also have created a survey of best practices targeted toward OWI instructors, tutors, and administrators. The survey will be ready for general membership response either in late fall 2009 or early winter 2010.
In terms of our current understanding of OWI best practices, among other early findings, we are learning that educators have a wide range—from minimal to extensive—preparation and training for their online instruction. It seems that much of the training focuses on how to engage the technology, while other training has some components of actually teaching with the technology. The issue of actually teaching writing as the disciplinary subject appears to be treated somewhat inconsistently at these institutions. Some of the people we have interviewed and who have responded to our initial questionnaire have expressed a lack of ability to speak to the theory and pedagogy of online writing instruction, which suggests that discerning best practices in areas other than the superstructure and infrastructure of OWI courses might be the biggest challenge this committee faces. At this early point in our research, we take this interesting finding to indicate that the theory and pedagogy of OWI—particularly regarding “best practices”—likely will require ongoing research.