Improving Writing Across the Curriculum: Lessons from OWLs

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Improving Writing Across the Curriculum Lessons
from OWLs

• Tan Bee Hoon
• Professor Dr. Richard P. Corballis
• School of English Media Studies
• Massey University (Turitea)

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Overview

• 1. OWL An Introduction
• 2. Theoretical Background
• 3. OWLs and Writing Improvement
• 4. An Exemplary OWL(Virtual Tour)
• 5. Conclusion

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OWL An Introduction

• Online Writing Lab
• An extension of the walk-in writing lab into the
  cyber space
• Philosophy Give a person a fish, and he will
  have fish for a day show him how to fish, and he
  will have fish for the rest of his lifetime.

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OWL Objectives

• To provide consultation or tutoring service to
  help students in the writing process. The aim is
  to improve the writer, not the writing.
• To provide various tools and resources for
  writing students and practitioners.

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Theoretical Background

• The product approach to writing
• - Focus is on the final product
• - Grammatical accuracy and precise rhetorical
  organisation are emphasized
• - The writer must not get help with his writing
  to avoid plagiarism.

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The process approach to writing

• - Cognitive learning theory meaningful
  learning is reflective and constructive
• - Collaborative learning theory
• better writing is achieved through
  collaboration
• - Errors are de-emphasized
• - Writing is a process comprising various
  stages

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OWL Background

• Writing as a process prompted the establishment
  of writing centres in the USA in the 80s
• Aim to provide one-to-one consultation to help
  students in the various stages of their writing
• Other facilities word processing and references
• Writing across the curriculum /disciplines

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• Early 90s, writing centres go online
• Online services
• - A gopher or website that promotes a physical
  writing centre.
• - Access to electronic handouts, guidebooks, or
  other reference materials.
• - Links to electronic texts from global websites

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• - Access to Internet or other network search.
• - Links to homepages of the local or global
  writing community.
• - Publishing environment for student writers.
• - Connection to forums or listservs on writing.

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• - Links to MOOs for writers.
• - One-to-one tutorials via private chat rooms or
  form-based e-mail submission

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OWLs and Writing Improvement

• OWLs use the same medium as that used by students
  in writing
• The online medium forces students to rely solely
  on their writing to make their meaning clear, as
  students are deprived of non-verbal cues
• OWLs are good starting places to acclimate
  students to the Internet
• OWLs offer new ways for conducting research

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• Dakota State University OWL - 1995 survey 90 of
  student users rated the OWL help as good or
  very good
• Writing Professor
• Students who worked with the OWL improved at a
  measurably rate than students who did not

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An Exemplary OWL

• The Purdue University OWL
• http//owl.english.purdue.edu/
• Established in 1994 under the directorship of
  Muriel Harris
• Oldest and the most reputable
• Comprehensive services and resources
• Millions of virtual clients over 100 countries

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Awards

• Learning in Motion Top Ten Selection
• Awesome Librarys Star Rating
• EX Connect Best of the Web
• NetGuides Best of the Web
• Internet Public Librarys Resource of the week
• Starting Point has ranked it 10th in Webcrawlers
  Top 100 most popular sites on the web.

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http//owl.english.purdue.edu/