Conversing Across the Divides: Social Contructionism, History of Distance Learning, and the Future of Online Composition Courses

As institutions of higher learning continue to adapt to challenging financial and regulatory environments, and as more students are pressured by need for higher education to find alternatives, the numbers of students enrolling in online distance education writing courses is expected to rise. While the popularity of online distance education writing courses continues to rise, there remain serious concerns among Composition faculty and program administrators about the quality of online distance education, as well as about student retention rates in the courses. Examining historical models and perspectives in Composition studies and in distance education provides useful framework for ensuring that online distance education writing course are designed and delivered in ways that balance new technological possibilities with academically rigorous, historically tested, and theoretically based practices. The current research takes a step in this direction by examining application of social constructionist theories of David Bartholomae and Kenneth Bruffee to online distance learning writing courses, as well as examining Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle as one historical model for teaching Composition and Rhetoric at a distance, while employing social structure to promote learning. In addition, the current work also considers the opportunities and limitations of the current computer networking technologies as tools for academic enculturation and collaborative student learning. Finally, the work also considers some possible advantages of distance education online writing courses in its ability to change the role of instructor, to create wider access to learning, and to democratize higher education. In addition to this analysis, suggestions for further research into the uses of online learning technologies in ways consistent with historical and theoretical frameworks of Composition studies are also provided. This research would further the work started here to apply historical and theoretical frameworks to improve online learning and to increase access to knowledge provided by Composition studies