Writing to learn and learning to write across the disciplines: Peer-to-peer writing in introductory-level MOOCs
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2014-01-01
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© Comer, Clark, Canelas.This study aimed to evaluate how peer-to-peer interactions through writing impact student learning in introductory-level massive open online courses (MOOCs) across disciplines. This article presents the results of a qualitative coding analysis of peer-to-peer interactions in two introductory level MOOCs: English Composition I: Achieving Expertise and Introduction to Chemistry. Results indicate that peer-to-peer interactions in writing through the forums and through peer assessment enhance learner understanding, link to course learning objectives, and generally contribute positively to the learning environment. Moreover, because forum interactions and peer review occur in written form, our research contributes to open distance learning (ODL) scholarship by highlighting the importance of writing to learn as a significant pedagogical practice that should be encouraged more in MOOCs across disciplines.
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Scholars@Duke
Denise K. Comer
Denise Comer's research interests include composition, nineteenth-century British literature, travel writing, and women's studies. Her current scholarship focuses on issues of the profession in composition and rhetoric, as well as Romantic and Victorian British women's travel writing in India.
Charlotte Clark
Clark's primary interest is the intersection of collective learning and collective action. She studies how environmental education can contribute to management of common pool resources, and how informal learning processes engage with behavior change for individuals and communities around environmental issues. She applies these concepts in work around campus sustainability, and leads the Education Subcommittee of Duke's Campus Sustainability Committee. She uses and teaches qualitative research methods, including use of qualitative research software.
Prior to completing her PhD, she worked for 5 years as the Director of the Center for Environmental Education in the Nicholas School, and for 12 years doing air pollution regulatory work under contract for the US EPA.
Areas of interest: environmental education, free-choice learning, sustainability education, qualitative research methods, collective action, community behavior, responsible environmental behavior, informal learning, food/environment intersection
Dorian Canelas
Prof. Canelas has been active in implementation of student-centered pedagogies and developing programs to increase undergraduate retention in science tracks. Research interests include chemical education research and the scholarship of teaching and learning as well as macromolecules for industrial and biological applications, such as microelectronics, coatings, membranes, gene therapy delivery, and blood compatibility.
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