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TEACHING LITERATURE ONLINE IN THE 21ST
CENTURY
by
VIRGINIA BEALE
L. MIRANDA GRAVES, COMMITTEE CHAIR
KYLE GRIMES
PEGGY JOLLY
SCOTT SNYDER
A THESIS
Submitted to the graduate faculty of The University of Alabama at Birmingham,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
2010
ii
TEACHING LITERATURE ONLINE IN THE 21ST
CENTURY
VIRGINIA BEALE
ENGLISH
ABSTRACT
Online learning is expanding rapidly in higher education, a development which
has led many scholars and educators to examine the benefits and weaknesses of
instructional technology. While many scholars have written about the use of technology
in teaching composition and English studies in general, there is a lack of scholarly
research addressing the specific concerns of college-level literature teachers. In contrast
to prevalent practice in the field of literary studies, my thesis addresses both pedagogical
and technological questions. I believe that thinking critically about teaching practices in
the field of literary studies is particularly important in the 21st century, when teaching
strategies are being transformed along with the rise of educational technology. In this
thesis, I am interested in exploring a range of possibilities for teaching literature online. I
have focused my study specifically on UAB's 200-level literature survey courses, a core
curriculum requirement for all undergraduates. I first examine the goals and objectives of
UAB's 200-level literature courses as they are listed on a sampling of departmental
course syllabi. Then, I discuss the teaching methods that UAB literature teachers
typically employ in the traditional 200-level literature classroom, specifically focusing on
how these methods correlate with course goals and objectives. Lastly, I explain how these
teaching methods can be replicated in the online environment of Blackboard. I suggest
iii
that teachers who utilize Blackboard's teaching tools in 200-level literature courses are
well-equipped to effectively align their instruction with course goals and objectives.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii
INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1
CHAPTER
1 TEACHING LITERATURE IN THE 21ST
CENTURY: GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
OF UAB'S 200-LEVEL LITERATURE COURSES ......................................................6
Cultural Understanding .............................................................................................9
Analysis of Texts ....................................................................................................14
Writing Skills ..........................................................................................................18
Conclusion ..............................................................................................................21
2 WHAT'S NOT ON THE SYLLABUS: TEACHING METHODS IN UAB'S
200-LEVEL LITERATURE COURSES .......................................................................22
Lecture .................................................................................................................26
Class Discussion ..................................................................................................29
Small Group Discussion ......................................................................................31
Handouts ..............................................................................................................33
Multimedia ...........................................................................................................36
Peer Review .........................................................................................................38
Conclusion ...........................................................................................................39
3 TEACHING 200-LEVEL LITERATURE WITH INSTRUCTIONAL
TECHNOLOGY ............................................................................................................43
Wimba ..................................................................................................................46
Blogs and Discussion Boards...............................................................................49
Chat Rooms ..........................................................................................................54
Web Links ............................................................................................................56
CONCLUSION: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERARY STUDY ........60
WORKS CITED ................................................................................................................64
APPENDIX: IRB APPROVAL FORM.............................................................................68
1
INTRODUCTION: TEACHING LITERATURE ONLINE IN THE 21ST
CENTURY
Online learning is expanding rapidly in higher education, a development which
has led many scholars and educators to examine the benefits and weaknesses of
instructional technology. For many English teachers, the verdict on IT is still out – as it
should be. Technology use in education is increasing due to a variety of social and
economic factors that are outside of the control of most teachers and scholars. Many
students consider online learning to be a more convenient alternative to traditional
classes, and administrators look to the potential for increased enrollment and economic
sustainability that online learning may afford. These perceived benefits greatly influence
the demand for IT in higher education, and with growing demand comes a greater need to
evaluate these technologies from a pedagogical perspective. However, while many
scholars have written about the use of technology in teaching composition and English
studies in general,1 there is a lack of scholarly research addressing the specific concerns
of college-level literature teachers. Many college-level literature teachers, Cynthia Selfe
explains, "think of computers…as a simple tool that individual teachers can use or ignore
in their classrooms as they choose" (23). Selfe maintains that, on the whole, university
teachers in the field of English studies have not "[paid] critical attention to the issues
generated by technology use" (23). Thus, although IT use among college-level literature
1 Cynthia Selfe and Gail Hawisher, for example, are two scholars who have written independently and
jointly about technology's impact on literacy and literacy education. They argue that students must acquire
the necessary skills to read, write, and design digital texts, and they must have the capability of interpreting
and analyzing information presented in electronic environments. Without such skills, they "may be
incapable of functioning effectively as literate citizens in a growing number of social spheres" (Hawisher
et. al 642). See Hawisher, Gail E., Cynthia L. Selfe, Brittney Moraski, and Melissa Pearson. "Becoming
Literate in the Information Age: Cultural Ecologies and the Literacies of Technology." College
Composition and Communication 55.4 (2004): 642-692.
2
teachers has grown, very few literature scholars have examined questions about teaching
in the electronic era.
This neglect is perhaps indicative of a larger problem: historically, it has not been
common practice for literature scholars to address pedagogy issues in their academic
research. George Levine suggests that "essays about teaching are often regarded as the
academic equivalent of 'how-to' literature, not intellectually strenuous, not, somehow,
very serious" (8).2 Most English professors dedicate a great deal of time and energy to
their teaching duties, not merely because teaching is part of their job description, but
because teaching is challenging and rewarding. Nevertheless, a lack of pedagogical
emphasis in university-level literary research persists, and this lack is particularly evident
in the area of web-supplemented literature classes.
In contrast to prevalent practice in the field of literary studies, my thesis addresses
both pedagogical and technological questions. I believe that thinking critically about
teaching practices in the field of literary studies is particularly important in the 21st
century, when teaching strategies are being transformed along with the rise of educational
technology. In this thesis, I am interested in exploring a range of possibilities for teaching
literature online. I have focused my study specifically on UAB's 200-level literature
survey courses, a core curriculum requirement for all undergraduates. Primarily, I address
two related questions: what are the goals of UAB’s 200-level literature courses, and can
Blackboard’s teaching tools be used to achieve these goals in a pedagogically-sound
manner. In order to answer these questions, I first examine the goals and objectives of
2 Levine's essay, "A Nation Divided," was published in 2001 in the first issue of Pedagogy: Critical
Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition and Culture, a research journal published by
Duke University Press. I have not come across other publications with a similar commitment to critical
pedagogical studies in the field of literature. Several essays from this journal have informed my research
and will by cited in this thesis.
3
UAB's 200-level literature courses as they are listed on a sampling of departmental
course syllabi. Then, I discuss the teaching methods that UAB literature teachers
typically employ in the traditional 200-level literature classroom, specifically focusing on
how these methods correlate with course goals and objectives. Lastly, I explain how these
teaching methods can be replicated in the online environment of Blackboard. I suggest
that teachers who utilize Blackboard's teaching tools in 200-level literature courses are
well-equipped to effectively align their instruction with course goals and objectives.
I have chosen UAB's 200-level literature courses as my focus in this thesis
because all students who enroll in an undergraduate degree program at UAB must
complete one of these three-hour courses to satisfy a core curriculum requirement (unless
the student has taken the course elsewhere). Students may choose to take Introduction to
Literature, World Literature, British and Irish Literature, or American Literature. 3
Introductory literature courses are taught by adjuncts, instructors, and professors alike,
and students who take these courses have a wide range of skill levels, interests, and
learning styles. Thus, introductory literature courses provide a rich basis for a study about
teaching. Most of UAB's 200-level literature courses are conducted in the traditional
classroom, but currently, in both the fall and spring semesters, the English department
runs one or two 200-level courses online; this number is likely to increase as demand for
online courses increases. Because Blackboard is the course management system currently
in use at UAB, most online instruction is carried out in Blackboard; therefore, in this
study, I analyze the particular teaching tools available within Blackboard.
3 The following is a list of UAB's 200-level literature courses: 216, Introduction to Literature; 217, World
Literature Survey I; 218, World Literature Survey II; 221, British and Irish Literature I; 222, British and
Irish Literature II; 223, American Literature I; and 224, American Literature II.
4
In chapter one of my thesis, I describe UAB-specific 200-level literature goals
and objectives that I have extrapolated from a sampling of 30 course syllabi from spring,
summer, and fall semesters of 2009. These syllabi represent each 200-level course
offered at UAB; they were taught by 18 different professors/instructors. The main goals
of these courses are for students to "increase cultural understanding," "acquire facility in
the analysis of texts," and "develop writing skills."4 In my first chapter I discuss each of
these goals in depth, and I explore the new and evolving implications that these goals
have for 21st century teachers and learners. Computer and internet technology is affecting
the way that we communicate and interact on various levels; furthermore, such
technology is contributing to changes in the nature of literary expression and scholarly
research. All of these issues impact the work of literature teachers and students. One
cannot, therefore, discuss the aims UAB’s 200-level literature courses without exploring
these issues.
In chapter two, I outline the instructional methods that teachers employ in 200-
level courses and explain how these methods correlate with course goals. I conducted a
survey of the teachers who taught these courses in 2009, asking them to indicate how
often they used particular teaching methods, specifically lectures, small group
discussions, class discussions, handouts, multimedia, writing prompts, and peer review
sessions. Additionally, I asked respondents to describe specific situations in which they
used each of these methods. My analysis of the survey data is presented in this chapter,
along with an explanation of how each method is used in the traditional classroom as
teachers assist students in meeting the course goals described in chapter one.
4 This list is extracted from a course syllabus that was part of my review. All references to syllabi will be
kept anonymous.
5
In chapter three, I analyze the teaching tools in Blackboard based on how they
compare in effectiveness to the teaching methods outlined in chapter two. The tools I
examine are Wimba, blogs, discussion boards, chat rooms, and web links. On the basis of
this examination, I have concluded that, for the most part, these tools provide teachers
with the means to teach 200-level literature courses as effectively in the online
environment as they can in the traditional classroom. And in many cases, Blackboard
tools enable teachers to enrich their classrooms with innovative, relevant instruction that
would not be possible without the use of IT.
6
CHAPTER ONE
TEACHING LITERATURE IN THE 21ST
CENTURY: GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF
UAB'S 200-LEVEL LITERATURE COURSES
"To use our understanding in order to negotiate with the world and to see it differently
involves understanding of a high order. It is the kind of understanding that is referred to
in the rhetoric of university teaching, yet seems hard to impart" (John Biggs, Teaching
for Quality Learning at University 35-36).
It's known as "Syllabus Day" – the first day of class, when the teacher distributes
the course syllabus, giving an overview of everything from the attendance policy to
course assignments. This is the day when the teacher makes a contract with the student –
"Here's what I'll be expecting of you, and here's what you can expect of me and of this
course." Syllabus Day is usually the easiest day of the semester, but it can also be the
most daunting day, looking ahead at all the material that needs to be covered, all the
pages to be read, tests to be taken, and papers to be written. And somewhere in the flood
of information poured on students in often less than half of a class period is the list of
course objectives. As a student, I never paid much attention to the objectives; I was
always most concerned with the list of books I would be required to read and with the
information about grade distribution. In other words, my first thought was often, "What
do I have to do to make a good grade?" But perhaps unbeknownst to the typical student,
many teachers put a great deal of time and effort into creating course objectives.
Objectives form the foundation of every college course, whether a traditional
course, an online course, or a course that blends face-to-face (f2f) and web-based
instruction. In the book Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and
7
University Teachers, Wilbert McKeachie writes, "The first step in preparing for a course
is the working out of course objectives, because the choice of text, the selection of the
type and order of assignments, the choice of teaching techniques, and all the decisions
involved in course planning should derive from your objectives" (9). Teachers should
have a clear sense of what it is that students are expected to learn in order to plan how
they'll teach. In other words, a teacher's choice of instructional methods can be
influenced, either directly or indirectly, by the objectives that he or she develops for a
given course.5 Today, as instructional technology (IT) becomes a more prevalent force in
education, teachers are confronted with new and complex challenges as they plan how to
teach. At most colleges and universities, teachers have access to computers and online
course management systems, and the presence of technology in the classroom forces
teachers to make a conscious decision about whether or not they will incorporate IT into
their teaching practices. This is one of the most important decisions that 21st century
educators face. However, because technology skills have become increasingly vital to
success in school, the workplace, and social and civic communities, I argue that the
question should no longer be, "Should we teach with technology?" Rather, we should be
asking, "What are the best ways to use IT in order to advance our discipline's goals and
objectives?"
In order to begin answering this question, I followed a three-step methodology
that is outlined in this chapter. First, I developed a comprehensive list of departmental
goals and objectives by examining 30 syllabi of 200-level courses that were taught in
5 McKeachie concedes, "Many effective teachers never state their goals very explicitly, yet their students
achieve the kinds of motivational and cognitive outcomes that we all desire" (11). Nonetheless, developing
some idea of what the objectives are for a given course is a pivotal step in the process of course planning.
8
UAB's English department during spring, summer, and fall semesters of 2009.6 After I
developed a comprehensive list of departmental goals and objectives from a
representative sample of departmental syllabi, my next step was to disaggregate the list
by breaking it down into common components. There is not a standard, departmental list
of objectives for UAB's 200-level literature courses, so the wording of course objectives
differs slightly on each of the syllabi that I reviewed. While some teachers include
narrowly stated objectives, others provide a list of broader goals. This diversity in stated
departmental objectives is consistent with Elaine Showalter’s claim that, in general,
literature teachers "are not accustomed to defining…objectives as actions or
competencies – what students will be able to do, as well as understand – or as
transferable skills" (24). Nevertheless, despite the differences in wording that appear in
our departmental syllabi, I discerned three common goals that ran through the thirty items
on my sample: students are expected to "increase cultural understanding," "acquire
facility in the analysis of texts," and "develop writing skills."7 My third step was to
determine if our departmental goals are consistent with national professional goals within
the field of literary studies. As I mentioned in my introduction, little pedagogical research
exists for the field of university-level literature, so I could not rely on best-practices
models at this point in my study. Nevertheless, a review of literature for the general field
of English studies that I include in this chapter did reveal interesting correlations between
our faculty’s goals and a broad field of national pedagogical values.
6 The syllabi are representative of each of the following courses: 216, Introduction to Literature; 217,
World Literature Survey I; 218, World Literature Survey II; 221, British and Irish Literature I; 222, British
and Irish Literature II; 223, American Literature I; and 224, American Literature II. 7 This list is extracted from a course syllabus that was part of my review. All references to syllabi will be
kept anonymous.
9
Significantly for the purposes of this study, my review of literature also reveals
that technology is increasingly associated with the realization of these goals. Hence, in
this chapter, I also analyze the goals and objectives of our department’s 200-level
literature courses in light of these technological influences, outlining some of the skills
and knowledge that students need to obtain in order to understand cultural matters and be
proficient readers and writers in the 21st century. While our departmental goals, as well as
the corresponding objectives, are well-established, foundational aims of literary study,
they carry new and evolving implications for 21st century teachers and learners. New
technologies influence our understanding of issues that are central to the study of
literature, such as language, communication, culture, and literary expression. And
because we are increasingly exposed to digital texts, our reading and writing habits are
changing.
Cultural Understanding
Each 200-level course surveys approximately one to three centuries' worth of
literature. As one UAB teacher puts it on his/her course syllabus, "we can't hope to cover
everything." These introductory courses, then, are designed to give students an overview
of the literature produced during a given time period, and students should gain a cultural
understanding of the authors, works, and periods that are studied. Understanding course
material is an objective common to most college courses, but as John Biggs explains in
Teaching for Quality Learning at University, this objective is somewhat ambiguous
because the term "understanding" carries several meanings (34). He clarifies the term by
10
outlining four types of knowledge that correspond to university-level understanding:
declarative, procedural, conditional, and functioning. Functioning, which "is based on
the idea of performance of understanding" (Biggs 42), is the highest level of knowledge
because it involves all of the other kinds of knowledge. For students to have functioning
knowledge, they must know about things (declarative knowledge); know "how to do
things, such as carrying out procedures or enacting skills (procedural knowledge); and
know when to do these things, and why (conditional knowledge)" (Biggs 42). Thus, at the
highest level, understanding the material studied in 200-level literature courses involves
knowing about the authors and works (i.e., plots, characters, genre, conventions);
knowing how to apply this knowledge to one's analysis of the text; and knowing how to
put all of this knowledge to work by responding to a text with the production of one's
own text. I will discuss the skills of analysis and writing in the sections that follow this
one, but for now, I will focus on the objectives that correspond to declarative forms of
knowledge.
Below is a list of objectives that were extracted from the thirty course syllabi I
reviewed. Based on my interpretation, each of these objectives can be classified under the
broadly stated goal of increasing cultural understanding.
"Students will become familiar with the conventions of various literary genres,
including short and long fiction, autobiography, lyric poetry, and drama."
Students will "learn…literary terminology."
"Students should be familiar with the basic plot of [the] works [studied]."
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"Students will study short fiction, poetry, and drama to learn the basic structure,
styles, and elements of these literary forms."
Students "can…identify the themes/theses…that the authors use as a means of
expression."
Students should "understand some of the historical and cultural contexts in
which American authors wrote."
"Students should be familiar with some key American writers and works of
American literature from 1865 to the present."
Students should "demonstrate comprehension of selected historical, aesthetic,
and literary-generic concepts integral to the development of English literature
before the Enlightenment."
As this list illustrates, in 200-level literature courses, students are expected to increase
their knowledge about literary conventions, genres, terminology, and structure, and to
acquire knowledge about cultural and historical information that contextually situates the
studied texts. This knowledge conforms to Biggs’s definition of declarative knowledge as
knowledge which "accrues from research, not from personal experience. It is public
knowledge, subject to rules of evidence that make it verifiable, replicable and logically
consistent. It is what is in libraries and textbooks, and is what teachers 'declare' in
lectures" (41). UAB's 200-level literature courses are introductory courses, so it is
assumed that most students come to these courses with a limited amount of background
knowledge in the subject. One of the main goals of an introductory course in literature,
12
then, is for students to establish a foundation of knowledge about the literature that is
studied.
Hence, students should take from the literature classroom a cultural understanding
of the art of fiction. At UAB, students are required to take a course in literature and other
core humanities subjects because "study in the humanities addresses the ability to deal
with questions of values, ethics, or aesthetics as they are represented in literature,
philosophy, religion, and the arts, and is fundamental to general education" (UAB
Undergraduate Catalog 2009-2010). Fiction, poetry, and drama are art forms through
which writers express their perspectives about the human experience. As one teacher of
American Literature I explains in the course description on his/her syllabus, by reading
early American literature, students will consider a variety of questions about how the
texts "establish, promote, and reflect American ideals," culture, and identity. By thinking
about these questions, the teacher anticipates that "by the end of the course we should
have a better understanding of why things presently are the way they are, i.e., why we
take for granted certain beliefs, values, and lifestyles as natural and typically American."
The study of literature is an important part of a solid and well-rounded university
education because it gives students the opportunity to broaden their understanding of
human differences and commonalities, as well as their ability to comprehend and
appreciate imaginative language.
Cultural understanding is a vague concept; its meaning largely depends on one's
definition of the two terms, culture and understanding. To this point, I've focused more
on the meaning of understanding, taking culture to loosely mean "literary art." There are
many different opinions as to what constitutes the literary; in fact, this is one debate that
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literature scholars grapple with often.8 As the field of English studies becomes more
diverse, scholarly interests broaden and new and varied texts are introduced into the
curriculum. Regardless of one's particular view about what should be taught in literature
courses, it is important to bring this discussion to light in the classroom. Students should
understand that culture is by no means a stagnant or established concept. By studying
early American, Renaissance, or Victorian literature, students get a glimpse of one
particular facet of human "culture." And their perception of literary texts from past
decades and centuries is colored by their exposure to current and emerging forms of
fiction and to the myriad forms of multimedia that they regularly encounter.
Today, one of the biggest forces affecting communicative and creative practices
(and thereby the definitions of culture and literature) is digital technology. As literary
expression changes, so does our understanding of concepts such as genre, plot, and
authorship. Teachers of literature are in a good position to examine how technology
influences changes in creative expression, and in our ability to comprehend and relate to
new and old forms of literature. How, for example, will the rise of electronic books
change the form of the novel and the way that readers consume books? How do
communication forums such as blogs and social network sites affect the way that
individuals express their thoughts and tell their stories? Questions such as these have a
place in the literature classroom, particularly if one of the main goals of literary study is
for students to increase their cultural understanding. Biggs explains that "Sound
8 Robert Yagelski argues that scholars in the field spend an inordinate amount of time reflecting and
debating about what should constitute the study of English (5). In the introduction to The Relevance of
English: Teaching That Matters in Students' Lives (Urbana, IL: NCTE, 2002), Yagelski writes, "our
professional journals are filled with discussions that map out what we should be doing as a profession" (8).
James Berlin also contends that "no feature of the discipline can be considered beyond dispute. At issue are
the very elements that constitute the categories of poetic and rhetoric" (xi). See Rhetorics, Poetics, and
Cultures: Refiguring College English Studies. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1996.
14
knowledge is based on interconnections. […] Cognitive growth lies not just in knowing
more, but also in the restructuring that occurs when new knowledge becomes connected
with what is already known" (75). Teachers can encourage the growth of higher levels of
knowledge by challenging students to develop their own definitions of culture and to
relate the stories, poems, and plays they read in class to the imaginative and expressive
texts they come across in their own worlds. Although this type of understanding is
difficult, if not impossible, to measure and assess, it is a significant goal that many
literature teachers strive for in their classrooms, even if not all teachers articulate this on
their course syllabi.
Analysis of Texts
Another principle goal of 200-level literature courses at UAB is for students to
develop competence in textual analysis. To analyze means closely examining the
constitution or structure of a text in order to reach a deeper understanding of the text – to
break it down into its constituent parts in order to better comprehend the whole.
Therefore, the goal of being able to analyze texts hinges on the development of students'
reading abilities. The following is a list of objectives from 200-level course syllabi that
can be grouped according to the broader goal of analyzing texts:
Students will develop the "ability to read carefully and closely, both poetry and
prose."
Students are "able to analyze key passages closely, understanding their
significance to the work as a whole."
15
"Students will learn to…analyze this literature not only in response to the style
and composition of the texts themselves, but also in relation to historical, social,
political, and artistic conditions and movements relevant to the texts."
Students will "develop techniques for analyzing authors' works by learning how
to interpret literature."
In core curriculum courses, students aren't expected to achieve the type of subject-level
mastery that might be demanded of majors; nevertheless, they should demonstrate
competence in performing the skills that are fundamental to the study of a given subject.
In the discipline of literature, reading and analysis are activities that contribute to a
deeper understanding of poetry, prose, and drama. By learning the steps needed to carry
out such activities, students gain what Biggs's classifies as procedural knowledge.
Progressing to a more advanced level of understanding requires that students know when
and why to execute these skills (conditional knowledge), and through the combination of
such competencies, as Biggs explains, students reach the level of functioning knowledge.
In other words, students can "interact thoughtfully with professional problems" (42).
Ideally, in college literature courses, students should "learn to think, read, analyze, and
write like literary scholars, to approach literary problems as trained specialists in the field
do, to learn a literary methodology, in short to 'do' literature as scientists 'do' science"
(Showalter 25). But what, exactly, does it mean to be able to read and analyze literature?
Many of the 200-level course syllabi specify that students should learn to read
closely and carefully. Proficiency in reading is not something that can be easily taught or
learned, for a student's ability to read is heavily dependent on the amount of cultural and
16
contextual knowledge that he or she brings to a given text. Reading is not merely a skill,
but is "based upon a knowledge of the codes that were operative in the composition of
any given text and the historical situation in which it was composed" (Scholes, Textual
Power 21). As students learn about the time periods in which the studied texts were
produced, and about concepts such as genre and literary conventions, their
comprehension of a text grows. As one UAB literature teacher explains, reading well
takes practice and is a skill that can contribute to a person's understanding of complex
socio-cultural issues:
The ability to read well, both the symbols on the pages of literature and
the symbols of our cultural surroundings, is a lifelong endeavor. It is an
ongoing, highly complex activity involving our inherent capacities to
identify patterns, make connections, and arrange events into meaningful
cause-and-effect sequences. Without these abilities, we would not be able
to make sense of the marks on the page and the world around us.
Reading closely and carefully means being able to comprehend a text at the level of plot
and character, as well as being able to delineate the structure and style of a text. 200-level
courses should introduce students to the steps needed to become more proficient at
reading and analysis. An important aim of literature courses, then, is for students to learn
how to become better readers – by closely studying the words on the page, in addition to
paying attention to things outside of a text that contribute to the reader's ability to grasp
the text's meaning. And ideally, by learning to read literary texts, students become better
equipped to read the wide variety of texts that they encounter in their lives beyond the
literature classroom.
17
Today's students are increasingly exposed to digital texts, such as email, blogs,
text messages, RSS feeds, and e-books. Additionally, alphabetic print can no longer be
considered the dominant form of communication; most media that we are exposed to in
the 21st century is what Gunther Kress refers to as "multimodal," meaning that both the
verbal and visual are often used to convey meaning. Kress explains, "images are coming
to be more and more dominant in many spheres of public communication" (25). To be
proficient readers in the 21st century, then, students need to learn to process, analyze, and
produce texts that are verbal and visual. In many ways, reading is no longer a linear
process – top to bottom, left to right. Reading in digital, multimodal environments
demands our intense concentration; otherwise, we can easily get sidetracked, our
attention diverted by hyperlinks, the list of "most e-mailed" articles, a reader's opinion
poll, a colorful advertisement. As Nicholas Carr argues, the distracting nature of the
internet may ruin our ability to focus on a lengthy piece of prose: "My concentration
often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking
for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the
text." Various forms of media are converging, and our reading preferences and habits are
evolving (for better or worse). As a result, being able to read closely and carefully is a
skill that is increasingly valuable. Students who can efficiently and intelligently process
the vast amount of verbal and visual information that bombards them on a daily basis will
be well-prepared to succeed as 21st century citizens.
18
Writing Skills
For students to reach the level of functioning knowledge in 200-level literature
courses, they should be able to respond to the studied texts by writing their own
analytical essays about the texts. After developing an understanding of the genre, style,
and cultural context of the studied texts, as well as learning a set of analytical and close
reading procedures to follow, students can apply all of this knowledge through the
composition of their own essays. One teacher explains on his/her syllabus that "students
will demonstrate their improved understanding [of the literature studied] through
[written] responses and examinations in class as well as longer, close-reading essays
prepared outside of class." Not only is writing a way for students to show what they have
learned, but it is also a process by which they can gain a deeper comprehension of the
material. As students write down their thoughts and take part in a critical conversation
about a particular text, they become thoroughly engaged with the text, and they take from
the course a deeply rooted understanding of the literature that was studied.
The list below represents the objectives from 200-level courses that correspond to
the goal of developing writing skills.
"Further develop writing techniques that require both rational analysis and
imaginative discernment."
19
"Students' writing will demonstrate improvements in composition skill and
analytical ability."
"The student can create original and unambiguous thesis statements that respond
to questions about the assigned works."
"The student can construct logical arguments about important ways of reading
the texts, supported by sufficient critical analysis and specific evidence from the
texts under consideration."
"The student can write a coherent and unified essay with an introduction, a
conclusion, and well-developed body paragraphs."
"The student demonstrates competence in the grammatical and usage
conventions of Standard Edited American English."
"Students should be able to write an analytic, as opposed to merely descriptive,
thesis-driven literary argument."
In 200-level literature courses, students "should continue to develop the same
compositional skills…acquired through English 101 and 102,"9 which means that they
should be able to write grammatically correct and well-organized essays. Further, they
should learn to write, to some degree, as literary scholars. Part of the purpose of the core
curriculum is for students to establish the foundation of a rounded university education;
hence, they should gain exposure to the methods that scholars use to build upon and
expand knowledge in a variety of disciplines. Having to write their own critical essays
9 This quote was extracted from a course syllabus.
20
introduces students to the process that scholars go through when analyzing a work of
literature. One teacher explains on his/her American literature syllabus that an aim of the
course is "to establish a 'conversation'…as a way of understanding some of the important
themes and ideas that have concerned American writers." Literary scholars establish
conversations by writing and reading literary texts, as well as by writing and reading each
other's critical responses to the texts. Students learn to make their voices heard in literary
conversations and in conversations that are of import in their own worlds by practicing
the skill of writing.
The writing skills that students develop in 200-level literature courses will greatly
enhance their success in both academia and their professional lives. All college graduates
should possess the ability to write clear prose, to express complex thoughts and ideas
through the use of language. Such skills are particularly important at a time when
students "are bombarded with signs…especially with signs transmitted by the audio-
visual media. And, for a variety of reasons, they are relatively deprived of experience in
the thoughtful reading and writing of verbal texts" (Scholes, Textual Power 15). A great
deal of the writing that students do is now digital; texts can be created and published at a
rapid rate, and anyone with access to the Internet can become a self-published author
with the push of a button. Reading and writing have always been discursive activities, but
the fact that so much information is now published online means that conversations
between readers and writers are growing in frequency and scope. People can also share
information and collaborate in the production of written and multimodal texts with
greater ease, which challenges notions of authorship and creates confusion about issues
such as intellectual copyright and plagiarism. Moreover, because there are so many
21
communication channels through which information is distributed and consumed, speed
of delivery often takes precedence over accuracy, clarity, and creativity. Students should
understand how technology has influenced changes in communication, and the literature
classroom is an ideal place for teachers to address questions and issues related to the
evolving nature of written discourse.
Conclusion
The main goals of UAB's 200-level literature courses are to educate students who
are proficient readers and writers, and who demonstrate cultural understanding in regards
to the texts studied. Most of the students who take these courses will not go on to major
in English or to be literary scholars, but they still have much to gain from studying
literature. Courses in literature can be particularly beneficial for 21st century learners, for
they are faced with new technologies that have a growing impact on the nature of culture
and communication. McKeachie asserts that "in most courses we are concerned about
helping our students in a lifelong learning process; that is, we want to develop interest in
further learning and provide a base of concepts and skills that will facilitate further
learning and thinking" (10). As I will discuss in the next two chapters, teachers can
produce the desired levels of understanding in 200-level literature courses by employing
a variety of effective teaching practices, both traditional and web-based. There is no
prescribed, right way to teach these courses, and any teacher who is committed to
engaging students in the learning process will be successful in aligning his or her
teaching methods with course goals and objectives.
22
CHAPTER TWO
WHAT'S NOT ON THE SYLLABUS: TEACHING METHODS IN UAB'S 200-LEVEL
LITERATURE COURSES
"Therefore what the teacher has is not a thing but a process – a capacity for seeing and
asking new questions…Literature teachers will be more aware than most that it is process
they are trying to impart, not information" (Peter Elbow, "The Definition of Teaching"
189).
A course syllabus should provide students with a good overview of what a course
will entail – the work they will be required to do and the knowledge and skills they will
be expected to gain. The course syllabus does not, however, give students an indication
of what the course will be like from an instructional standpoint. Will the teacher lecture at
90-miles-per-minute? Will the lectures be structured or totally improvised? Will the
teacher stand behind a podium or reorganize the desks so that everyone is sitting in a
circle? Will the class watch movies or be given a plentitude of handouts? Will the teacher
have a sense of humor, or will she be a stickler for rules? These are the types of questions
that students are most curious to know about when they enroll in a course because how a
teacher conducts a class has a great impact on student engagement and learning. A
teacher can have the best intentions for a course, but without thoughtful implementation
of the best teaching methods, students may not reach the desired levels of intellectual
achievement.
Teaching well has always been a challenging task, and one challenge today's
teachers are confronted with is the growing influence of instructional technology on
23
school campuses. Teachers must determine how they can incorporate IT into their
teaching practices in ways that are pedagogically-sound; in other words, they must
evaluate whether online teaching tools enable them to align their instruction with course
goals and objectives. As I stated in my introduction, my long-range goal in this study is to
demonstrate that teachers of UAB's 200-level literature courses are in a good position to
utilize IT – specifically the methods and teaching tools that are available in virtual space
through Blackboard’s course management system – to achieve their course goals and
objectives. In my previous chapter, I identified the goals and objectives of UAB’s
English Department. In this chapter, I will discuss the methods and teaching tools that our
faculty currently employ in their traditional (brick-and-mortar) classrooms.
As I discussed in the previous chapter, a teacher’s choice of teaching methods can
be influenced, either directly or indirectly, by the course goals and objectives. The main
goals of 200-level literature courses at UAB are for students to "increase cultural
understanding," "acquire facility in the analysis of texts," and "develop writing skills."
While the various courses in American, British, and world literature may share a focus on
developing these competencies in students, each course is unique because every teacher
has his or her own teaching style. As McKeachie points out, "College teachers are
individualists. There are lots of different ways to do a good job" (11). How do UAB
literature teachers instruct in 200-level courses? What are the most frequently-used
methods, and in what situations, specifically, do teachers employ these methods? To
answer these questions, I distributed a survey to UAB's 200-level literature teachers,10
10
The survey was administered online through a program called Survey Monkey. I distributed the survey to
a total of 39 teachers who had taught a 200-level course(s) in spring, summer, or fall semester of 2009. The
24
asking a variety of questions about the frequency of use of particular instructional
methods, as well as open-ended questions about the respondents' approaches to using
these methods in the classroom. I asked questions about the following methods: lectures,
small group discussions, class discussions, handouts, multimedia, writing prompts, and
peer review sessions.11
In this chapter, I discuss the results of this survey, explaining how
each method corresponds to the major goals and objectives of 200-level literature
courses. Although I maintain that literature teachers should begin considering ways to
utilize IT in their courses, my focus in this chapter is on the traditional, tried and true
strategies that are at present more widely utilized in our department.
Rich learning experiences and successful classroom sessions hinge, in large part,
on things that are outside of the teacher's control, such as the relationships that develop
among the students. Regardless of the unpredictable nature of the college classroom, it
behooves a teacher to give conscious consideration to how he or she intends to teach a
course. Most literature teachers are not given any training in pedagogy or educational
theory. As George Levine asserts, "One studies the subject, not the subject's pedagogy.
[…] For some, teaching remains an art, not to be taught; but even for those who are rather
businesslike and unsentimental about it, it has not seemed a subject worthy of their
critical and scholarly talents" (8). Levine explains that most English departments offer
courses in composition pedagogy, but not in literature pedagogy. UAB's English
survey was sent via email, and I received a 50% response rate. The responses were kept completely
anonymous. 11
There seemed to be confusion about the definition given for "writing prompts" in the survey: "'students
are prompted to record their comments, criticisms, evaluations, questions, [AND/OR] insights' (McKeachie
et. al. 123) about course materials." Some teachers understood writing prompts as those given for out-of-
class or exam essays, and some thought that the question was referring to course evaluations. Others took
writing prompts to mean less formal journal assignments (which is the meaning that was intended).
Because I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the survey results for questions concerning this method, I will
not discuss writing prompts in this chapter.
25
department offered a course in teaching literature for the first time last spring (2010),
which is hopefully a sign that English departments at other universities are beginning to
do the same. My experience as a student, as well as my research for this thesis clearly
indicates that most literature teachers dedicate a great deal of time and energy to their
teaching duties, not merely because teaching is part of their job description, but because
teaching is challenging and rewarding.
Teachers may have different opinions about which instructional methods are the
most effective, but if a teacher is committed to helping students reach higher levels of
understanding, then he or she will likely be successful in meeting course goals and
objectives. Peter Elbow distinguishes between the "wrong" definition of teaching –
"showing up with the goods" – and the "right" definition of teaching – "producing
understanding" (187). He argues that there are certain conditions within higher education
that "too easily permit the very metaphor 'goods': a tendency to conceive the ingredients
of the teaching enterprise as information, ideas, or answers – conveyable commodities"
(188). The ultimate aim of teaching, however, should be to strengthen students'
understanding of a given subject and to enable them to ask the right questions as they are
confronted with new information and ideas. I discussed the concept of understanding at
length in chapter one as it relates to the goals and objectives of 200-level literature
courses; the course syllabi that I reviewed clearly indicated that producing understanding
at varying levels is a primary aim of these courses. Students should know about the
authors and works studied, know how to apply their knowledge through textual analysis,
and know how to respond to a text with the production of their own text. What specific
26
teaching methods, then, do teachers most often use in the literature classroom as they
work towards enabling students to achieve these competencies?
Just as my review of departmental course syllabi provided a good overview of
departmental goals and objectives, the survey that I administered was designed to identify
specific ways that faculty implement their course goals and objectives in a classroom
context. My survey was designed to identify how faculty utilize several teaching
strategies: lectures, small group discussions, class discussions, handouts, multimedia,
writing prompts, and peer review sessions. The responses to my survey indicate that
faculty implement these strategies in a variety of ways and for a variety of purposes.
Lecture
If asked to describe the manner in which most university courses are conducted,
the average person would likely conjure the same scene – a teacher standing behind a
podium at the head of a large lecture hall delivering hour-long speeches on some aspect
of the course that the students will later be tested on. I certainly took courses like this
during my freshman and sophomore years at Ole Miss. Many courses, particularly core
curriculum courses with large enrollments, are primarily delivered via lecture. But
smaller courses may also feature lectures. Entry-level literature courses at UAB, for
example, are not so large that they are held in lecture halls (they are typically limited to
25 students), but the lecture is one of the most commonly-used teaching methods in these
courses. When asked how often they lecture, 85% of survey respondents indicated that
they sometimes or frequently lecture. This method is prevalent on university campuses
27
for a reason – it is an effective way to convey important information to students and to
model certain ways of thinking and approaching problems. As McKeachie writes, "By
helping students become aware of a problem, of conflicting points of view, or of
challenges to ideas they have previously taken for granted, the lecturer can stimulate
interest in further learning in an area" (54-55). Encouraging curiosity and a spirit of
questioning, and helping students learn how to learn should be primary aims of education
at all levels. Although not without potential pitfalls, lecturing is a tried-and-true
instructional method by which teachers can effectively work towards student realization
of course goals and objectives.
For some students, the word lecture is synonymous with nap. Most university
teachers are hired on the basis of their scholarly accomplishments, rather than their ability
to capture the attention of a room full of undergraduates. But even the most entertaining
lecturers can put students to sleep. Elaine Showalter explains that "The lecture has to
confront problems of attention span, memory, and distraction, and these are not simply
problems of poor or unmotivated students, but basic human issues of perception and
retention" (49). Even when students are able to pay attention to an entire lecture, they
may not fully grasp the teacher's main points, or they may not be able to retain all that
they heard, especially if they do not have good note-taking skills. Showalter describes
other potential drawbacks to lecturing, such as the inability to "address the individual
concerns and needs of students" (50); additionally, there is the possibility that an eloquent
and well-delivered lecture "can be more intimidating than inspirational" (50). The
purpose of a lecture is not to impress students with the teacher's knowledge, but to enable
them to grow as learners and thinkers. Some strategies for delivering pedagogically-
28
sound lectures include "a clear structure and outline, a statement of objectives, and
frequent signposts" (Showalter 52). Not all teachers will be exceptional lecturers, and
students' attention will wane at times, but teachers who choose to employ this
instructional method can do simple things to maximize the effectiveness of their lectures.
By and large, teachers of UAB's 200-level literature courses lecture in order to
provide contextual information about the poems, stories, and plays that they are assigned
to read. Students often need to develop an understanding of historical and cultural
concepts in order to grasp the meaning and importance of the texts studied. For instance,
teachers might want students to know biographical facts about the author or key historical
movements of the time period during which the text was produced. They also might
expect for students to gain an understanding of important aspects of the literary genre
being studied. Such knowledge helps students delve deeper into their analysis of the
texts, which they can then apply to their written critical response essays. One teacher
explains the type of complex issues that can be conveyed in a lecture: "Modernism as a
literary, artistic, and historical period demands a great deal of historical, cultural,
philosophical, psychological, and artistic context for students even to begin to grasp
how/why it's so important and (often) satisfying in its difficulty." Another teacher
discusses how s/he uses lecture as a way to provide students with an introduction to a
particular literary period by explaining "the whos?, whats?, whens?, wheres?, whys?, and
hows? – before we study a representative sampling of writers from the period." Lecturing
is an instructional method that the majority of 200-level literature teachers at UAB find
useful and effective. Delivering lectures enables teachers "to provide background
information or to establish cultural issues relevant to a specific time period or work," and
29
understanding the context surrounding the production of literary texts is an essential goal
of these introductory, and for that matter, all college-level literature courses.
Class Discussion
A lecture, in the most traditional (and teacher-centered) sense of the term, is a
method by which "the subject matter expert tells the students about the major topics that
make up the discipline or professional area, and what the latest thinking is" (Biggs 82).
To teach in this way for the entirety of each literature class period would likely be
exhausting for most teachers and boring for most students. Perhaps for this reason, many
survey respondents indicated that they lecture for only a short period during class, and
they devote the largest amount of time to conducting class discussions; in fact, 100% of
teachers answered that they sometimes or frequently conduct class discussions. John
Biggs asserts that lectures are often purely "expository," meaning that the discussion is
"one-way, involving minimal interaction from students" (83). When teachers want to
shift to more "interactive teaching" (Biggs 83), they can utilize a variety of techniques to
elicit responses and questions from students. One teaching method that allows teachers to
engage students in a dialogue is the class discussion (or large-group discussion). This
method encourages students to actively participate in the learning process; they are
encouraged to ask questions and listen to the ideas of their classmates.
Class discussions can be a great way to hedge boredom and keep the attention of
students. Of course, there will always be students who are distracted or disinterested, and
as a teacher, it can be hard to ignore the student who's doodling or trying to send a text
30
message under the desk. And it's difficult to know how to deal with over-eager students
who tend to dominate the discussion, as well as the students who never utter a word.
Another difficulty in conducting class discussions is posing the right questions and
prompts to spark the students' interest. Sometimes a teacher may try to engage the class
in a discussion, and the room falls silent. Other times, the teacher may ask a question that
facilitates an unproductive, tangential conversation. Still, while class discussions may not
always go as planned or be as successful as the teacher had hoped, they are an excellent
way to foster a sense of community among students.
Through effective class discussions, teachers can assist students in meeting the
goal of cultivating their own analysis of the texts they read. There are several ways that
teachers can implement this strategy in the classroom. Many UAB teachers facilitate
directed discussions interspersed with lecture, or they lecture at the beginning of class
and then prompt students to participate in larger discussions. One teacher, for example,
writes, "insofar as I lecture, from a technical standpoint, my lectures are more likely to fit
a formal definition of a discussion hybrid with moments of lecture." Another teacher
explains that s/he divides the students into groups at the beginning of the semester, and
assigns the students a date to "provide their responses to the readings. As our knowledge
builds up, I require more sophisticated interpretations – not just mimicking of another
student's response." Class discussions, then, can function as a strategy for developing the
critical thinking skills needed to interpret literature.12
The teacher doesn't simply dictate
12
In contrast, Sherry Linkton argues that combining lecture with class discussion, though a strategy widely
used by literature teachers, is not an effective way to develop in students the desired skills of "critical
cultural reading" (247). She suggests that teachers should go beyond these methods and structure courses in
which students become apprentices who observe and mimic reading and research habits. Linkton writes,
"Students need to be able to hear and even see how we access, think about, and organize information, pose
31
to the students what is important; rather, he or she allows the students the opportunity to
form their own critical and analytical responses to the texts. Many survey respondents,
when asked to provide specific examples of situations in which they conduct class
discussions, replied that they prompt discussions by asking questions of the students.
Sometimes they pose questions about textual details or theme and literary elements, but a
few teachers indicated that good discussions could be spurred simply "by asking who
liked and who did not like a particular work and/or character. Discussion usually occur[s]
spontaneously after that." Giving students the chance to freely express their initial
reaction to a text can make students feel more comfortable speaking out and interacting
with their classmates and the teacher. For class discussions to be an effective instructional
method, students have to feel that their ideas will be respected. If successfully
orchestrated, class discussions can "prompt [students] into discovering meaning for
themselves."13
And ultimately, some of the most important aims of a university education
should be to empower students to develop knowledge independently and to learn how to
ask the right questions and think analytically about a broad range of subjects.
Small Group Discussion
In contrast to class discussions, small group discussions are not favored as an
instructional method by the majority of UAB's 200-level literature teachers. Fifty-five
percent of teachers responded that they rarely or never conduct small group discussions.
This may be because teachers wish to avoid the problem, as one teacher puts it, of
questions, and explore possible interpretations" (258). See "The Reader's Apprentice: Making Critical
Cultural Reading Visible." Pedagogy 5.2 (2005): 247-273. 13
This quote was extracted from a response to my survey.
32
"having students 'chat' in groups." In the composition courses I've taught, I've sometimes
found that putting students in small groups to discuss can lead to chattiness. Small group
discussions can also lead to some of the same pitfalls as class discussions, such as
dominant students taking over the discussion and shy students remaining quiet. On the
other hand, such discussions are often quite beneficial to the introverted student who
might be more comfortable speaking out in a small conversation as opposed to expressing
his or her thoughts to the class as a whole. Many survey respondents noted that providing
students with specific directions or tasks when they break into small groups can keep
students focused on the topics at hand. Some UAB teachers use the method of small
group discussions for "analyzing short pieces." Students might be asked to examine
"Frost's poetry," "specific sections of Dante's Inferno," or "Winthrop's, Bradford's and/or
Smith's writings." Several teachers explain that they give students specific questions to
answer about the texts they are studying, and often they are asked to present their answers
to the class. This gives students the chance to work together to solve problems or think
through difficult issues or concepts.
By implementing small group discussions and encouraging students to engage
meaningfully with one another, they may establish "a learning community, one of trust,
constructive response, and intellectual partnership" (Showalter 54). Small group
discussions can function as a way for students to improve their analytical ability, as well
as their understanding of the texts. They can benefit greatly from observing how their
peers respond to questions and from being exposed to various interpretations of the
stories, poems, and plays the class is reading. McKeachie explains that peer learning,
whereby students learn from their fellow students, functions well when students support
33
and motivate one another. For peer learning methods, such as small group discussions, to
be effective, students must take an active role in the conversation by both clearly
expressing themselves and listening closely to what others have to say. McKeachie
describes what students should be expected to do to facilitate peer learning:
The task of the successful student in peer learning is to question, explain,
express opinions, admit confusion, and reveal misconceptions; but at the
same time the student must listen to peers, respond to their questions,
question their opinions, and share information or concepts that will clear
up the confusion. (149)
Small group discussions, and for that matter, any instructional method that requires active
student participation, can be difficult for the teacher to coordinate and execute. It's clear
why a majority of UAB literature teachers do not regularly utilize this method in the 200-
level literature classroom. The teacher must give up a certain degree of control, but at the
same time, s/he is responsible for assuring that students accomplish the assigned tasks
and that discussions are productive. Organizing effective small group discussions might
be challenging, but students can potentially learn a great deal from each other.
Handouts
A majority of UAB 200-level literature teachers (55%) sometimes distribute
handouts to students. Thirty percent of teachers frequently provide handouts. Although
handouts can, as one teacher points out, be "made a substitute for actually taking notes,
actually paying attention, or actually thinking," they can also be extremely helpful for
34
both teachers and students. For example, handouts can be used to break down complex
information and ideas (such as literary and philosophical theories) and to teach reading
and writing. Handouts can be given as supplements to a lecture; such provisions might
enable students to pay closer attention or to more easily retain the important points.
Showalter maintains that providing handouts is a good strategy for making lectures more
memorable. She suggests creating handouts with "spaces for students to answer
questions, solve problems, or add their own notes" (52). Several survey respondents
explain that they use handouts to provide "cultural background" or "definitions of literary
terms." One teacher writes that s/he distributes "a handout that highlights the differences
between Enlightenment, Romantic, and Transcendentalist perspectives," and another
teacher occasionally gives handouts "to provide 'real life' examples of a theme or issue
broached in one of our texts." Handouts such as these can be valuable resources for
students, especially in introductory-level courses in which students may be exposed to
certain course materials and content for the first time. And for teachers who are
concerned that providing handouts might lead to passive behavior on the part of students,
creating handouts with spaces for students to add notes and questions can ensure that
handouts are somewhat interactive.
Providing handouts is also an effective way for teachers to assist students in
developing analytical, close reading skills, which is one of the primary goals of 200-level
literature courses. Teachers can create handouts that explain reading strategies and guide
students as they work to master such strategies. One teacher, for example, gives students
"1) a handout on literary terms, and 2) a handout on the first reading that shows how to
interpret the literature using the terms." Another teacher provides "detailed reading
35
guides & questions for the epic of Son Jara, which comes out of an oral tradition and is
very difficult for modern readers." Many of the texts that students read in 200-level
courses are written in styles that they are unfamiliar with, and well-developed handouts
can enable students to get over some of the initial hurdles that come with unfamiliar
territory. Reading is a skill that is difficult to teach and learn, but as Robert Scholes
argues in his book The Crafty Reader, reading is a process that can be carried out through
the use of certain tools. Such tools, Scholes writes, "must be acquired, through practice"
(xiv). He outlines several elements of the craft of reading poetry, many of which, in my
view, can also be applied towards the reading of fiction and drama: readers should pay
attention to punctuation and to unfamiliar words; situate the text by asking questions
about the text's narrator, style, and form; find out contextual information about the author
and the circumstances under which the text was written; consider how the text attempts to
persuade, generate emotion, and represent human events or conditions; and consider
personal responses to the text, as well as how such responses are influenced by the text's
form (44-45). Teachers could give students a handout explaining these elements of the
"craft of reading;" furthermore, a heuristic could be developed based on these elements
that guides students through the process of reading literary texts.
Developing writing skills is another important goal in 200-level literature courses.
As students become more proficient at close reading and textual analysis, they should
learn how to articulate their reading observations and analyses in essay form. As such,
most teachers assign two out-of-class essays, and they often include short essay questions
on course exams. Some survey respondents indicated that they use handouts to teach the
writing skills that students will need to successfully complete course assignments (and
36
other writing tasks they might encounter in and beyond academia). One teacher provides
students with "guidelines about expectations for college-level writing for a 200-level
course – a reminder of what should have been mastered in EH 101 and 102." Another
teacher gives students "a handout with rhetorical guidelines/reminders for both writing
assignments in addition to the assignment sheets." Like reading, writing is a skill that
demands a great deal of practice, but teachers can assist students in learning to write by
teaching them strategies for good writing and by reinforcing the rules of Standard Edited
American English that they learned in 100-level composition courses.
Multimedia
Teachers were asked how often they utilize certain types of multimedia materials
in the classroom – artwork, music, movies, and voice recordings of author readings
(poetry, prose, drama). The majority of respondents rarely use these types of multimedia,
but a significant portion indicated that they sometimes use movies, music, artwork, and
voice recordings (45%, 40%, 31.6%, and 25%, respectively). Although using multimedia
is not an especially popular instructional method among UAB teachers of 200-level
literature courses, visual art, music, and audio can be useful in spurring discussions and
in helping students connect with the literature. As such, multimedia can advance the
course goal of developing cultural understanding. For teachers who instruct with movies,
a few indicated that they find it helpful to show films of plays that the students have read,
such as Othello. Many modern readers are not accustomed to reading plays, especially
those by Shakespeare, so seeing a play acted out on screen can help students comprehend
37
a story. Other teachers prefer to show documentaries, such as "a film on [the] discovery
of the New World," "a pbs documentary on the origins of Islam," or an "archaeological
film on the 'real' King Arthur." These sorts of films may provide students with contextual
information that can help them better understand the works that they read.
Similarly, teachers who use artwork may do so as a way to show students, as one
teacher explains, "how visual art coincides with movements within the literature" they
read. One teacher writes that s/he "incorporate[s] the visual arts to give a sense of the
'spirit of the age.'" Some teachers show students "Medieval iconography" or "a particular
painting [that] is included in the anthology and pertains directly to a work we are
reading." Using artwork such as this helps students see connections between various
types of creative arts and movements, and listening to music can be another effective way
to make these connections real for students. A teacher writes, for example, that s/he has
"used recordings of blues & jazz music in conjunction with Baldwin's 'Sonny Blues.'"
Another teacher, when teaching "The Beat Generation, [has students] listen to bebop
music." Another helpful form of audio multimedia that some literature teachers
incorporate into the literature classroom is voice recordings of author readings (of poetry,
prose, or drama). Poetry can be challenging to read on the page, and this is particularly
true for works written in Old English and Middle English. Teachers can provide voice
recordings to help students overcome any difficulties they may have when reading texts
written in these older forms of the language. And voice recordings can also be useful
when studying more modern forms of poetry. For example, one teacher has his/her class
listen to "Allen Ginsberg, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Sylvia Plath…as we discussed their
works. Students follow in their textbooks as the author reads the poetry." Hearing the
38
rhythm of poetry is important, and listening to how authors (or narrators) read their
poetry can "[help students] who are uncertain about their ability to read aloud
themselves." Part of the purpose of taking a survey course in literature is for students to
gain a broad education in the humanities, which "addresses the ability to deal with
questions of values, ethics, or aesthetics as they are represented in literature, philosophy,
religion, and the arts" (UAB Undergraduate Catalog 2009-2010). Overall, incorporating
various forms of multimedia – movies, artwork, music, and voice recordings – into the
literature classroom can lead to richer learning experiences for students, enabling them to
draw deeper connections across cultural and artistic lines.
Peer Review
The majority of respondents (75%) indicated that they rarely or never organize
peer review sessions among students. Peer review, in which students exchange drafts of
their written work (short or long essays) and evaluate one another's work based on
teacher-provided guidelines, is a common instructional method in composition courses.
Peer reviews are thought to enable students to become better writers by teaching them to
evaluate the work of others, thereby becoming better self-evaluators. While an important
goal of 200-level literature courses is for students to continue developing the writing
skills they acquired in 100-level composition courses, peer reviews are not a popular
method for teaching writing skills in literature courses. One survey respondent explains,
"given how few essays there are, I haven't always found [peer reviews] useful because
students don't have a chance to develop that kind of relationship with their classmates in
39
this course." Students write more essays in composition courses than they do in literature
courses, so there are more opportunities for them to work closely with one another in
revising and editing their writing. Also, effective peer review sessions typically take an
entire class period, and literature teachers may not want to dedicate that much time to the
activity. It's been my experience that students need strong direction for how to go about
responding to and critiquing one another's work, and they also need to feel confident that
they are able to give and receive good advice. When executed successfully, peer review
can strengthen students' revision skills, thereby enhancing their writing skills, but it can
also be a waste of valuable time if students are not well-prepared to productively
complete the task.
Conclusion
There is no "correct" approach to teaching UAB's 200-level literature courses (or
any course at any grade level). Nevertheless, some teaching methods are favored more
than others because they have proven effective. In the case of 200-level literature courses,
the majority of teachers at UAB often utilize the methods of lecture, class discussion, and
handouts. They facilitate small group discussions and present multimedia materials with
less frequency, and they rarely organize peer review sessions. All methods (except peer
review) are used to advance the course goal of increasing cultural understanding in
regards to the literature that is studied. Class discussion, handouts, and small group
discussion (and perhaps lecture, to a lesser degree) can all be utilized in order to teach
analysis and close reading skills. And handouts and peer review, when used, are helpful
40
methods for teaching writing. The goal of developing writing skills, then, seems to
receive less focus in the classroom than the other main course goals. Typically, the major
assessments for the course are formal research essays and exams that often include short
answer and/or essay questions; hence, students are expected to show what they have
learned in the course by writing thoughtful, grammatically correct, and well-structured
essays. Since the students' grades are usually heavily dependent on how well they can
express their ideas in writing, perhaps more time should be spent teaching this skill.
Although I did not discuss the method of assigning writing prompts (informal,
"journal" responses to course readings), a small portion of teachers indicated on the
survey that they have students complete such assignments. The following is an example
of a prompt that one teacher assigns his/her students:
I provide a prompt for each reading, structured in 3 parts: Read, Think
About, and Write. Read highlights the assignment and any related
background info; Think About may take them through a poem stanza by
stanza or highlight characters and themes to attend to in short story; and
Write gives them a specific topic or question to address in an online
journal entry.
Writing prompts similar to this one may very well be assigned by a number of teachers,
but my survey was inconclusive in determining how often teachers utilize this method.
Writing is a skill that demands a great deal of practice, and writing prompts can be
beneficial in that they give students the opportunity to practice putting their thoughts on
paper. Teachers could also have students purchase a writing handbook; one teacher, for
41
example, writes that s/he uses a book called Rules of Thumb to teach academic writing.
Students do not learn all they need to know about writing in English 101 and 102. They
are continually challenged to write clear and complex prose throughout their academic
careers. Teachers serve students well by providing them instruction in academic writing
skills in literature courses.
While many of UAB's 200-level literature teachers may favor similar teaching
methods, they can nevertheless infuse a great deal of originality into their classrooms.
There are many effective ways to teach literature, and good teachers know that it's
important to spend time assessing their personal strengths and weaknesses, as well their
opinions about various teaching methods. But ultimately, as Elbow asserts, "There is one
thing that is probably more important than any pedagogical or curricular structure: that
the teacher have and share a spirit of questioning, wondering, and doubting. The
questions the teacher brings into the classroom are worth more than any answers" (191).
The teacher's primary aim is producing understanding, and in the 21st century, new and
emerging technologies have an enormous impact on our understanding of culture and
communication – issues that are central to the study of literature.
Technology has also greatly altered the face of higher education, so it's important
to consider how teachers can achieve a "spirit of questioning" in a digital environment
while maintaining a commitment to course goals and objectives. At UAB, teachers have
access to Blackboard, which contains a variety of teaching tools that are comparable to
the traditional teaching methods discussed in this chapter. Many Blackboard teaching
tools enable teachers to replicate the effective, tried-and-true methods of the traditional
classroom, thereby enabling students to meet the learning goals and objectives of 200-
42
level literature courses and to grow intellectually as they encounter new ideas and learn to
ask new questions. Furthermore, many of these tools facilitate teaching that is creative
and innovative and simply not possible without the use of technology.
43
CHAPTER THREE
TEACHING 200-LEVEL LITERATURE WITH INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY
When I told my dad, a former philosophy and literature student who has been a
parochial educator for the past 25 years, that I was writing my master’s thesis about
teaching literature online, he scoffed and said, "Oh, Virginia, all you need to teach
literature is a book and a blackboard." He backtracked quickly, assuring me that he was
supportive of my interests and that, yes, he knew how much education was being altered
by new technologies. Still, the sentiment he expressed is not uncommon. Cynthia Selfe,
who has written extensively about technology use in the field of English studies, writes,
"When we don’t have to pay attention to machines, we remain free to focus on the
teaching and study of language, the stuff of real intellectual and social concern" (22).
Selfe suggests that the unfamiliarity of computers creates in some literacy educators an
aversion, or simply an indifference, to technology. Is technology, then, outside of the
realm of concern for the teacher of literature? On the contrary, topics that are of great
concern to the teacher and student of literature – language, communication, artistic
expression, and culture – are influenced by changes in technology. Hence, literature
teachers should give students the opportunity to think critically about technology's
influence in these arenas. Additionally, teaching with instructional technology enables
students to become more skilled at digital communication, thereby preparing them to
succeed as members of a workforce that demands a diverse skill set. There is no question
44
that technology can be daunting, especially when it is unfamiliar. There is already so
much that the teacher cannot control in the classroom – why invite more potential chaos?
At this point in time, computer and internet technology is imperfect and constantly in flux
– systems temporarily fail, emails disappear in cyberspace, documents are corrupted, the
functionality and appearance of websites change overnight. These problems, although
frustrating, are merely technical, and it's easy to let technical worries overshadow our
focus on effective teaching practices. Technology does not magically transform the
classroom; it doesn't automatically make teaching easier or learning more meaningful.
But just as good teachers can create rich learning experiences with little more than a book
and a blackboard, so too can they accomplish the same through the use of technology.
How, then, can literature teachers best make use of the online teaching tools most
readily available to them? How do Blackboard's teaching tools compare with traditional
teaching methods, and do these tools enable teachers to effectively work towards the
goals and objectives of UAB's 200-level literature courses – increasing cultural
understanding in regards to the literature studied, acquiring the ability to analyze texts,
and developing writing skills?
These questions hold particular relevance for online teaching within UAB’s
Department of English. In the current semester (fall 2010), UAB's English department is
offering 44 sections of 200-level survey literature courses, only two of which are online.
Typically, online courses are conducted solely within Blackboard. Every course at UAB
has a virtual course shell in Blackboard, and teachers have the option of whether or not to
turn their traditional courses into web-enhanced courses by supplementing instruction
with the use of Blackboard teaching tools. Blackboard is the course management system
45
of choice for a growing majority of universities and colleges in this country and around
the world, but many educators have expressed displeasure with Blackboard. Some
scholars argue that Blackboard doesn't provide a wide enough variety of teaching tools
for students with different abilities and learning styles.14
I maintain, however, that
Blackboard has a diverse range of tools that allow teachers to customize instruction for
all types of learners. These tools allow teachers to replicate traditional teaching methods
that are frequently used in the literature classroom. And in many cases, they enable the
teacher to enhance instruction in ways that aren't possible without the use of IT. In this
chapter I will argue that Blackboard's virtual space and online teaching tools provide
UAB’s English faculty with innovative opportunities for aligning their teaching methods
with their course goals and objectives.
Teaching in an online environment is undoubtedly different from teaching in a
traditional classroom. Uploading course materials to Blackboard and preparing online
lessons are time-consuming activities, especially for first-time users. Teachers can turn to
the campus instructional technology staff for assistance in operating the various tools in
Blackboard. UAB's IT department hosts regular training sessions, and they also assist
teachers on an individual basis. Writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Jeffrey
Young observes, "Typically, colleges give seminars with titles like "'5 Ways to Use a
Wiki in Your Class'" or "'Getting Started With Blackboard.'" But in order to teach as
14
For example, see Botshon, Lisa. "All Aboard Blackboard." Teaching, Technology, Textuality:
Approaches to New Media. Eds. Michael Hanrahan and Deborah L. Madsen. Basingbroke, England:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. 93-104. Botshon argues, "Blackboard does not lend itself to innovative
pedagogy, and the ways in which we are 'trained' to use it has more to do with learning the functions of the
courseware and little to do with teaching techniques" (100).
Darin Payne also argues that Blackboard is too homogenous and "implicitly claims itself as a space
designed for all, rather than a space designed for a niche market" (495). See "English Studies in Levittown:
Rhetorics of Space and Technology in Course-Management Software." College English 67.5 (2005): 483-
507.
46
effectively as possible, teachers need to know more than how to navigate through a
course management system and to use its teaching tools; they need to understand how
their particular courses can be taught most effectively in the online environment. For
example, a literature teacher might learn the basic functions of a blog, but without
understanding more specifically how a blog can enhance instruction in the literature
classroom, the teacher may not recognize the benefits of using a blog. While resources
available through IT departments and other technology support services are invaluable,
there is also a great need for scholars and teachers to discuss the benefits and downsides
of IT use within their particular fields.15
Hence, on the following pages, I examine a
number of teaching tools – such as Wimba, blogs, discussion boards, chat rooms, and
web links – available within Blackboard, highlighting their strengths, as well as their
weaknesses. I explain how these tools enable 200-level literature teachers to replicate,
and in many cases, enhance, effective teaching methods used in the traditional classroom;
furthermore, I discuss how teachers can successfully teach cultural information, textual
analysis, and writing skills in the online environment of Blackboard.
Wimba
Wimba is a system that is embedded into Blackboard that allows teachers to
conduct live and pre-recorded audio-visual presentations. With Wimba Voice Tools,
teachers can create podcasts or have live conversations with students, and Wimba Live
15
As discussed in the previous chapter, very few literary scholars have written about teaching or pedagogy,
so there is a lack of scholarly material addressing issues with technology use in the literature classroom.
George Levine argues that "The profession [of English studies] badly needs a whole new orientation
toward the question of the relation between teaching and scholarship, and a whole new genre that would
make it possible to see discussions of teaching as integral to the development of knowledge." See "The
Two Nations." Pedagogy 1.1 (2001): 7-19.
47
Classroom enables teachers to facilitate webinars, or virtual class meetings that "include
audio, video, application sharing and content display" (Wimba). Wimba, along with other
web-hosting programs such as Elluminate and WebEx, is being utilized more often in
academia and the professional world because individuals can make presentations and
meet with colleagues without having to travel, which saves both time and money. The
popularity of webinars seems to be increasing; therefore, I would suggest that students
who will eventually enter the professional world could benefit from exposure to Wimba
in college. Teachers of traditional courses might consider conducting a webinar for a
virtual class day. For online courses, webinars could be used more frequently to establish
a sense of community among class members and to teach course material. The program is
designed to mimic face-to-face (f2f) meetings, offering teachers a way to conduct
lectures and class discussions in online courses. UAB's literature teachers frequently
employ the teaching methods of lecture and class discussion in order to convey to
students cultural and historical background information that is relevant to the texts they
are studying. Teachers also use these methods to teach students how to read closely and
think analytically about literary texts. Do Wimba Voice Tools and Live Classroom, as the
company purports, allow the teacher to replicate these effective f2f teaching practices in
the online classroom?
Webinars do not always function seamlessly, and when there are glitches with
audio or the visual display, users can become frustrated and bored. If such technical
problems happened during a course lecture, students' attention might be lost, which
would obviously detract from the effectiveness of the lecture. Dean Dad, the pseudonym
of the blogger who writes Confessions of a Community College Dean, insists that
48
webinars are "always, without exception, horrible. They seem to want to be 'interactive,'
but they somehow combine the worst of PowerPoint with bad audio, time delays, and a
complete indifference to audience." I have certainly experienced webinars that were
poorly executed, sometimes as a result of technology malfunctions and sometimes
because the presenter lacked the know-how or skills to create an engaging, informative
virtual presentation. Dean Dad claims that when he's participated in webinars, "The
relatively straightforward expository part wasn't awful….[but] the mechanisms for
interaction were so clunky and delayed that they might as well not have been there."
Typically, webinars have a function that allows meeting participants to "raise their hands"
and either type or speak a question, but this process is definitely not as smooth as it
would be in a f2f presentation or meeting.16
Also, from the speaker's perspective,
webinars can feel awkward because the speaker cannot gauge the audience's response by
noticing body language or hearing whispered chatter. While teachers can utilize webinars
as a way to transfer their regular lectures into the online environment, conducting a class
discussion in Wimba Live Classroom might not be as conducive to learning as a
traditional class discussion.
Despite these potential drawbacks, Wimba is a valuable instructional tool for
teachers of online literature courses. Teachers can lecture about a particular text and
simultaneously present multimedia materials, such as relevant artwork or photographs of
an author. Wimba Live Classroom also has a tool for surveying students; teachers can
pose a question for students to answer, after which the results are tallied for the teacher
16
For students to participate in webinars, they need to have access to the appropriate computer software
and hardware. Webinars would likely lose some of their efficacy if, for instance, some students had
microphones allowing them to voice their questions and concerns, while others were limited to non-verbal
communication.
49
(or everyone) to see. Webinars provide teachers with certain capabilities that are not
possible without technology; for example, webinars and podcasts can be recorded,
meaning that students can have access to presentations for the duration of a course.
Students could re-watch particular parts of a presentation that were confusing or that they
need to review for an exam or essay assignment. Also, with webinar technology, there is
great potential for collaboration and for connecting with others across geographical
distances. Recorded webinars could be shared with other teachers and students, and guest
speakers, such as authors, poets, publishers, or other important figures in the literary
world, could be invited to speak to a class through Wimba. A considerable percentage of
UAB 200-level literature teachers have students listen to voice recordings of authors or
narrators reading literary texts; podcasts of such recordings can be uploaded to an online
course in Blackboard. These are all exciting possibilities, and as technology improves and
teachers become more comfortable teaching within these virtual spaces, teachers will
create and discover even more innovative uses of webinars and other forms of
educational technology.
Blogs and Discussion Boards
Both blogs and discussion boards are particularly worthwhile tools for literature
teachers because students are compelled to exercise both their writing and reading skills,
which are two primary aims of 200-level literature courses at UAB. Blogs and discussion
boards are tools within Blackboard that enable teachers to assign writing prompts and to
facilitate class and small group discussions, respectively.17
A blog is a space where
17
Blogs can also be created freely on the web, and while some teachers in both K-12 and higher education
create public blogs for their classes. There are arguments for and against using public blogs; some teachers
50
teachers and students can share their comments, ideas, and questions about the works
being studied. Typically, in a blog, a teacher posts a prompt that students respond to in
paragraph form; all responses can be viewed in sequential order by everyone in the class.
A discussion board is similar to a blog, but the responses are organized in a thread, and
each response and reply can be minimized and viewed individually. Discussion boards
are usually intended to elicit conversations among students; the teacher often requires
students to provide thoughtful replies to one another's posts. Teachers will likely need to
decide how strictly students should adhere to grammatical rules when writing blog or
discussion board posts (is it okay for students to use abbreviations?), but generally
speaking, blogs and discussion boards should be spaces where students' writing can
remain somewhat informal, especially when compared to essay assignments and exam
essay questions. If students are not overly constrained by strict grammar guidelines, they
may be more inclined to actively participate in blogs and discussion boards, and they will
benefit tremendously from putting their thoughts into words and reading the words of
their classmates.
Many of today's students are accustomed to communicating in virtual spaces and
would therefore be comfortable expressing themselves in online blogs and discussion
boards. They often "talk" to friends and family via email, text, Facebook, and/or Twitter,
and increasingly, these communication channels are used by individuals within various
career fields and community organizations. Hence, students need to further develop the
necessary skills to communicate clearly and intelligently in digital environments. As Gail
Hawisher et. al. assert, "The ability to write well – and to write well with computers and
maintain that students put forth better work when they know their work can be seen by anyone with internet
access, and some feel it is preferable to keep their work, and their students' work, in a private space, such as
Blackboard.
51
within digital environments – we believe will continue to play an increasingly important
role in determining if students will be able to participate in school, work, and
community" (642-3). By utilizing blogs and discussion boards in the literature classroom,
teachers give students the opportunity to develop the writing and reading skills they will
need to succeed in the course, as well as in their lives beyond the classroom.
Some argue that the heavy amount of reading and writing that is demanded in the
online environment, particularly when a teacher frequently utilizes blogs and discussion
boards, can keep students who struggle with these skills from succeeding in a course.18
However, because reading and writing are skills that require a great deal of practice,
students may greatly improve in these areas if they are induced to read and write on a
regular basis. Juan Flores maintains that online courses, which contain a substantial
amount of text-based information, demand that students are actively engaged in the
learning process. He writes, "Students learn not only to think through their reading and
writing – to meet the broad course objectives of text and literature analysis – but to
engage in reflective thinking over the writing of others" (430).19
When students engage in
sustained, reflective reading and writing – the kind that can be facilitated through the use
of blogs and discussion boards – they are more likely to retain the knowledge and skills
that they gain. Further, they will be able to apply their knowledge and skills when they
18
Botson asserts, for example, that "the only student who could possibly excel here was someone who was
not only self-motivated, but also already a good reader and writer" (99). 19
Flores organizes two types of discussion forums in his undergraduate online literature courses – a
"private or interactive portfolio journal (IPJ)" (431), which is a private journal that only the teacher reads
and comments on, and a public discussion forum, where students respond to prompts and share their
thoughts with the whole class. He suggests that this method is effective because it draws from "both public
and private voices – so we use the traditional focus on collective critical exchange in tandem with private
reflection. In the process, we make room for those who choose their own singular and confidential
moments of a private praxis" (433). See "The First Letter in Individual: An Alternative to Collective Online
Discussion." Teaching English in the Two Year College 33.4 (2006): 430-444.
52
compose their critical, close reading essays, typically one of the most heavily-weighted
assignments in 200-level literature courses.
Blogs and discussion boards are student-centered teaching tools, whereby students
benefit from more individualized instruction and also learn from one another. Robert
Menges explains that in online courses, the teacher's role shifts to that of coach, as
opposed to instructor. Teachers can focus less, Menges suggests, on presenting
information and more on helping students solve problems; further, "Teachers interact
more with individual students and small groups, becoming better informed about
individual students' understandings and misunderstandings" (186). When students post
their written responses to the studied texts in blogs or discussion boards, teachers can
read each and provide assistance and encouragement to those who most need it. They can
quickly determine which students will need further direction with analysis and
interpretation, as well as composition-related issues, such as grammar, style, and
organization. Teachers can provide more one-on-one instruction to students or direct
them to additional resources on the web. Students can also support one another; they can
see good examples of their peers' work and provide thoughtful feedback and criticisms to
each other. And every student can make himself or herself heard in online blogs and
discussion boards. As Cathie English writes, "The benefits of responding to literature in a
threaded discussion group are enormous for the silent student, but the threaded discussion
also accomplishes the same benefits for the those who normally respond in class, because
it asks them to give a more in-depth response" (59). If teachers pose the right questions
and prompts, students will have to take time to closely examine their texts and compose
clear, thoughtful answers.
53
Brandi Caldwell, an English teacher at Mountain Brook High School, created a
blog in 2006 called Madness in the Method for her senior classes.20
Although a blog for
high school seniors, this is a good example of the type of space where students can
interact and expand their knowledge and abilities related to the study of literature. In the
blog, there are several prompts that correspond to the work the students are reading; one
can click on the "Comments" link below each question to see all the student responses.
When studying Frankenstein, for instance, Caldwell asked the students, "What
constitutes someone being a human? Do you think Frankenstein failed or succeeded as a
human being? What traits or attributes, do you think, led to the creature’s fate? Cite
quotes to support your thoughts." Requiring students to use material from the text in their
responses gives them the chance to practice their close reading skills and to analyze
literature in the manner that they will be expected to when writing longer essays. Like
Caldwell, some university teachers use a blog or discussion board as part of a traditional
course, so students post their responses as homework. Blogs and discussions boards are
an excellent way to enhance a classroom-based course with computer work, and they are
a necessary component of any literature course that is conducted entirely online.
In the online environment of Blackboard, literature teachers can use blogs and
discussion boards to enable students to become more proficient at textual analysis and
writing, which are two of the main learning objectives for UAB's 200-level literature
courses. In the traditional literature classroom, students do not often have many
opportunities to read each other's work (most UAB 200-level literature teachers indicated
that they do not conduct peer review sessions), nor do they typically receive a great deal
20
The blog is no longer active at this address, but posts from the 2006-07 school year can still be viewed at
http://mrscaldwell0.edublogs.org/.
54
of instruction in writing. Blogs and discussion boards are instructional tools that teachers
can use in both traditional courses and online courses as a means for students to practice
their reading and writing skills. These tools also enhance student interaction and peer
learning, thereby contributing to a learning environment that is student-centered.
Chat Rooms
The chat room is a tool available in Blackboard that teachers can use to host
informal conversations or meetings with students. Teachers of 200-level literature
courses can use chat rooms to replicate traditional classroom teaching methods,
specifically class and small group discussions. Interaction in chat rooms is entirely text-
based; users type out what they wish to express, and everyone included in the chat can
read the comments. These discussions differ from blogs or discussion boards in that they
are synchronous, meaning everyone in the class must be online at the same time (which is
also true for Wimba Live Classroom webinars). Some teachers prefer to keep all
activities in an online course asynchronous, assuming that most students choose to take
online courses, at least in part, because they can complete course work according to their
own schedule. On the other hand, some teachers see synchronous discussions as
beneficial in establishing a sense of community among class members and also ensuring
that all students are working through the course at an acceptable pace. Teachers who
choose not to facilitate synchronous class discussions can use chat rooms for other
purposes. They can, for instance, hold "office hours" in a chat room, and any student in
55
the course can join the chat room to ask a question or express a concern.21
Teachers can
also organize students into groups and assign small group discussion questions or
prompts. It would likely be easier for smaller groups of students to coordinate a meeting
time than it would be to plan a time when the whole class could be online to chat. Chat
rooms can also be helpful for students as a way to follow-up peer reviews with
discussion. Although most UAB teachers do not conduct peer reviews in the traditional
classroom, at least one teacher indicated that s/he uses this method in online courses:
I use peer review for my online literature courses, but not in traditional
courses. The peer reviews are useful for generating the community aspect
of the online classroom and offering students additional feedback to
replace the immediate responses common in a traditional classroom.
Students can exchange papers through email, and they can use the chat rooms to discuss
each other's comments and suggestions. Chat rooms are a more efficient way to converse
in the online environment than email or discussion boards are because they can be
conducted in real-time.
Chat rooms can also contribute to the establishment of a sense of community
among class members. Educators who create and teach online must ensure that courses
"offer content that is at least the equal of what students get in a regular classroom [and in
addition], online courses have to give students opportunities to interact with the instructor
and with each other" (Maeroff 42). Some scholars and teachers claim that technology is
an isolating force in education, detracting from the types of social interactions that make
21
Chat rooms are open to all class members, so if a student needs to discuss something privately with the
teacher, he or she could schedule a phone conference or communicate via email rather than using the chat
room.
56
the learning experience rich and meaningful.22
Gene Maeroff concedes, "Without
adequate interaction, a classroom of one can be a very isolated place – and learning can
be compromised" (58). For most people, learning alone is very difficult. We can absorb
and retain much more knowledge when we are part of a community of learners
progressing through course material together. One of the main goals of higher education
is the expansion of knowledge through the sharing of ideas and information. Most
teachers strive to create an environment in their classrooms in which students are
encouraged to discuss, debate, and collaborate as they learn. And literature classes, in
particular, function most effectively when students are able to interact freely with one
another and the teacher through class and small group discussions and private student-
teacher conferences. For such an environment to be replicated in online courses, teachers
need to facilitate a sufficient amount of interaction between class members. One way this
can be accomplished is by hosting regular chat room sessions. As discussed, there are
various ways to utilize chat rooms, such as small group discussions, class discussions,
office hours, and post-peer review chats. Teachers who are creative can find many ways
to make the online classroom an interactive and engaging space.
Web Links
It goes without saying that students and teachers now do a substantial amount of
research – for projects that are both extensive and relatively minor – on the internet.
Blackboard allows teachers to make web links within a course. By doing so, they can
22
For example, Chris Anson argues, "Although many studies and testimonials affirm the ways that Internet
chat lines, listservs, email, and other 'virtual spaces' can actually increase the social nature of
communication, there is no doubt that the physical isolation of each individual from the others creates an
entirely different order of interaction" (269). See "Distant Voices: Teaching and Writing in a Culture of
Technology." College English 61.3 (1999): 261-280.
57
incorporate multimedia materials into their teaching, a method that UAB's 200-level
literature teachers sometimes employ in the traditional classroom to teach contextual
information so students gain a deeper cultural understanding of the literature studied.
Teachers of literature can find a plethora of valuable resources on the web to share with
students, most of which are free; for example, teachers can direct students to helpful
grammar websites, scholarly journals, literary blogs, and online multimedia content (art,
videos, music, etc.). Many educators recognize the value of utilizing multimedia in the
classroom as a way to engage students and to help them connect what they are learning
with things in the outside ("real") world. Additionally, students need the skills to navigate
and evaluate the sea of information that they encounter on the internet. For students to be
successful in their English courses, as well as other courses they will take in college, they
need to be able to find relevant sources to support their research. Hence, not only should
teachers enhance their instruction by presenting web links to students, but they should
also give students the opportunity to search for and share links with the class. This allows
students to become more actively involved in the learning process.
There are numerous sites on the internet with free resources for literature teachers
and students, including photographs, videos, study guides, and lesson plans. Norton
publishes a companion site for its American and English literature anthologies, which are
used by many undergraduate literature teachers at UAB. Some of these sites require
teachers and students to register for a username and password to have full site access, but
typically, registration is free for teachers who own and use Norton anthologies. The sites
provide many useful resources that teachers can use themselves or share with students,
such as illustrations, ideas for stimulating paper topics, links to related sites, and
58
downloadable audio files. Another noteworthy site for literature teachers and students is
Learner.org, which is published by Annenberg Media and includes resources for a variety
of subjects and grade levels. There are several video series (produced by public television
stations) with relevant content for literature teachers; some of the materials have to be
purchased, but most of the videos can be streamed online (but not downloaded). In a
series called Conversations in Literature, produced by Maryland Public Television in
2002, "teachers, academics, and authors gather as a 'community of readers,' immersing
themselves in classic and contemporary literature from Hamlet to works by Langston
Hughes, James Dickey, and Alice Walker." Another series that can be found on this site
is called American Passages: A Literary Survey, which was produced by Oregon Public
Broadcasting in 2003. This series includes videos exploring several works of American
literature and cultural context surrounding those works; the site also has a searchable
archive of visual art and audio files. 200-level literature teachers could use web sites such
as these to incorporate multimedia materials into their online (or traditional) classes.
They could use videos, podcasts, or artwork as a way to spark student discussions, or they
could intersperse multimedia materials with lectures in Wimba. There is a multitude of
relevant resources that can be found on the internet that can greatly enrich the study of
literature in 200-level online courses.
The further we progress into the 21st century, the greater the impact that
instructional technology is having on the landscape of higher education; therefore, it's
important for teachers to examine course management systems and learn how to
effectively utilize online teaching tools. Teachers of 200-level literature courses at UAB
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have access to a number of instructional tools within Blackboard that allow them to
effectively teach students so that they can meet course goals and objectives. Wimba,
blogs, discussion boards, chat rooms, and web links enable literature teachers to replicate
traditional teaching methods that are commonly utilized in the brick-and-mortar
classroom, specifically lectures, class discussions, small group discussions, and the use of
multimedia. Teachers of online 200-level literature courses at UAB can provide students
with a learning experience that is equally rich in content and interaction to courses held in
traditional classrooms. Furthermore, many of the tools available in Blackboard allow
teachers to enhance their instruction in ways that make learning exciting and relevant for
21st century learners. Innovative teachers can create courses that are student-centered and
interactive, and they may also find ways to incorporate lessons that allow students to
examine technology issues directly impacting the world of literature and language.
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CONCLUSION: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF LITERARY STUDY
Literature courses allow students to reflect on the human condition as it is
represented through a diverse range of voices. To many humanists, an ideal educational
setting is one in which a community of learners is closely engaged with one another and
with the texts being studied (I imagine a group of students sitting on the lawn of the
Grove at Ole Miss, reading Faulkner no less – something I was fortunate enough to do as
an undergraduate). Some argue that this ideal becomes an impossibility when technology
is introduced into the picture. Perhaps one day educators and students will balk at the
concept of online learning as a silly fad that occupied our attention at the turn of the
century. In contrast, I think it's much more likely that we will discover the means to
develop technology that suits the needs of teachers and students and that enables rich
learning experiences without compromising basic human interaction and the equitable
exchange of ideas. In fact, as I write this, new technologies that combine the
collaborative nature of social networking sites with the functionality of course
management systems (like Blackboard) are being developed and utilized in both K-12
schools and higher education. Advances like this are not possible, though, if scholars,
educators, and students don't take the time to evaluate new technologies in order to
understand how they impact our social and working lives.
Hence, to continue in the vein of research started in this thesis, English scholars
might examine the effectiveness of online teaching tools insofar as they facilitate student
achievement of course goals and objectives. In other words, while my study focuses
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primarily on teaching, a logical follow-up would be a study that examines student
learning in the online classroom (as compared with the traditional classroom).
Furthermore, researchers could evaluate levels of student engagement by studying the
quantitative data that is available in course management systems (e.g., number of logins,
duration of time spent viewing course materials, etc.), as well as qualitative data collected
from surveys, questionnaires, and the products that students create in online courses.
Ensuring that students are engaged in the learning process is one of the greatest
challenges for teachers of online courses, so it's important to understand what motivates
students to take online courses and what are the best ways to stimulate higher levels of
thinking and understanding.
Teachers have at their disposal a number of instructional technology tools to make
learning meaningful and challenging for 21st century learners; however, there is still room
for improvements in the realm of IT. As I have argued in this thesis, teachers who utilize
IT in 200-level literature courses at UAB are well-equipped to align their instruction with
the goals of 200-level literature courses – increasing cultural understanding, acquiring the
ability to analyze texts, and developing writing skills. Nonetheless, teaching literature
online could potentially be more effective if IT developers created products that could be
customized for niche markets, such as the variety of unique disciplines found on
university campuses. Right now, all teachers on UAB's campus have access to the same
teaching tools found in Blackboard's course management system. Ideally, teachers will
one day have the ability to integrate discipline-specific tools and software with
Blackboard (or other course management systems). For example, UAB's composition
teachers use Pearson's MyCompLab for assignments and quizzes related to grammar,
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syntax, style, and formatting. Teachers could use both MyCompLab and Blackboard
more seamlessly if a MyCompLab application were available to composition teachers
and students to use within a Blackboard course. For such developments to happen in IT,
it's imperative for teachers and scholars to evaluate online teaching tools and think
creatively about the potential for innovation.
The goals of UAB's 200-level literature courses carry new and evolving
implications for today's teachers and students. Students will need the skills to function in
digital environments, so they will benefit immensely if given the chance to read, write,
and research in the context of an online or web-enhanced course. They should also be
provided the opportunity to examine the ways in which technology is influencing our
communicative and social behaviors, our reading and writing habits, and our
understanding of what constitutes the artistic and literary. Beyond just using computers
and online tools for instructional purposes, teachers of literature should work towards
incorporating technology into their courses in ways that encourage students to think
critically about technology issues as they relate specifically to the study of literature.
Perhaps teachers might consider incorporating lessons into their courses that aim to
expand students' understanding of technology's impact on publishing, authorship,
language, and communication. Students could, for example, learn how the work of
authors and publishers is evolving due to the prevalence of new reading and writing
spaces, such as e-books and blogs; how literary research and scholarship is affected by
the growing presence of online databases and journals; and how communication is
increasingly conveyed through both verbal and visual media. Issues such as these greatly
impact the work of literature scholars and students alike, so it is important to bring them
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to light in the classroom – whether that light be an overhead, fluorescent bulb or a glow
from a computer screen.
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APPENDIX A
IRB APPROVAL FORM
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