Research: The Subprocess of Invention
Kathleen Yancey argues that “we have moved beyond a pyramid-like, sequential model of literacy development in which print literacy comes first and digital literacy comes second and networked literacy practices, if they come at all, come third and last” (6). I have watched this change occur over the past five years of my own teaching experience, but I do not believe we have triumphed over the “old ways” and completely replaced these with courses that fully emphasize the breadth of 21st century literacies. We may allow our students to blog, create webpages and wikis, and collaborate on Facebook, but we are still significantly lacking in our comprehension of 21st century literacies in the composition classroom. One thing I see repeatedly in my research is a marked emphasis on using digital technologies to aid in various stages of the writing process–from blogging as a means of invention to using Google Docs to create a group paper. Yet, I still find very little research on the use of digital medias to aid research in our composition classes. Perhaps this does not come up in our construction of the writing process because research is not viewed as a part of the traditional writing process. However, research is very much a part of brainstorming–or inventing–a topic. Francis Bacon’s revisions to the canons of rhetoric during the Renaissance brought this glaring omission to my attention several years ago. Bacon argued that we never “invent” an argument, but rather inquire into the topic. This is specifically what we ask students to do when conducting research for an assignment. To teach our students to achieve a true 21st century literacy, we must teach them to conduct research for academic papers in realms outside the ivory firewall.
NCTE and CCCC have gone to immense measures to articulate the goals that instructors should strive to meet in the composition classroom. These goals emphasize achieving excellent 21st century written products in multimodal ways, but they do not specifically emphasize the role of research in achieving these written products. However, to consider the role of research in the writing process–specifically as a sub-process of invention–when examining the statements of NCTE and CCCC, reveals a marked need for teaching social bookmarking in the composition classroom as a means of both furthering students’ 21st century literacies and improving their written products.
Research in social bookmarking forums can enhance writing by providing students:
- easier access to more in-depth research
- the opportunity to conduct more research in less time and gain a better idea of the discussions on the topic–and all of the discussions as opposed to just the strictly academic and/or accepted discussions
- the opportunity to work outside the ivory firewall and get the perspectives not just of the experts on the topic, but others who have something to say
- this will help them get a better grasp on their audience as well because they are reading the thoughts and language of their typical audience. When they are forced to keep their research to the academic realm, they are reading works written in a more educated and formal tone (which is fine if we ask them to write to the experts). But they are traditionally writing to a more informal audience. This can stifle the writer’s voice because she does not have the ability to really “speak” to her audience
- more time to write with a more informed view of the topic
Works Consulted for this Post
- “CCCC Position Statement on Teaching, Learning, and Assessing Writing in Digital Environments.” CCCC. Feb 2004. 29 June 2009.
- “CCCC Statement on the Multiple Uses of Writing.” CCCC. Nov 2007. 29 June 2009.
- “More Thoughts on 21st Century Literacies.” NCTE. Oct 2008. 29 June 2009.
- “NCTE Beliefs About the Teaching of Writing.” NCTE. Nov 2004. 29 June 2009.
- “The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies.” NCTE. 15 Feb 2008. 29 June 2009.
- Yancey, Kathleen.”Writing in the 21st Century: A Report from the National Council of Teachers of English.” NCTE Feb 2009. [PDF from NCTE]
You can also view my highlighted and annotated versions of these pages (except for Yancey’s) through my Diigo list “Blogged Links“
