Critical Realism and Composition Theory Book

Although not designed for easily-extractable classroom ideas, the essays in Passions, Pedagogies, and 21st Century Technologies offer opportunities for reflection on literacy and technology, which have the potential to translate into concrete teaching practices and assignments.

The essays in this collection range in approach/purpose, from historical surveys to case studies of student composition practices to attempts to raise broader socioeconomic issues of technology and access. Some of these essays were experiments in form that I found self-indulgent and/or dated. Below, a few essays that seemed to raise issues of interest for graduate instructors:

Ch. 2 on the essay, or what the author refers to as "essayistic literacy." What is the value of assigning essays? What can the genre do for students' thinking and writing that other types of assignments do not make possible?

Ch. 8 thinks through (or gives you the tools to think through) the instructor's role in online discussion forums.

The third section on "Ethical and feminist concerns in an electronic world" might be worth checking out for instructors with an interest in feminist pedagogy. For example, Ch. 15 tackles visual representations of women (and their self-representation) on the web.