Abstract:

Online higher education instructors are often trained as subject matter experts. Those who graduate as subject matter experts may not have taken a course in andragogy, or adult learning theory. Furthermore, if a faculty is not a traditional educator by training, the methodology of teaching academic writing may not appear on a CV. Beyond andragogy and learning theory, a subject matter expert may not be an expert in giving writing feedback in a way that is meant to help online students regardless of the academic level.

There are many ways that online teaching and learning can benefit and strengthen students’ writing. Often, online faculty assume that students should know how to write as part of the scholarly conversation in an online university. Yet, many online faculty find themselves in the position of being both subject matter expert instructors and writing coaches. The hidden curriculum (Jerald, 2006) of writing can create a frustrating and deflating experience for students who are less than prepared for the intense and high-level writing requirement.

PAUSE creates a framework that will make writing feedback pragmatic for all online subject matter instructors. As stated by Cleary (2011), if universities want to keep and graduate more non-traditional students, a new approach is needed for helping students learn to write successfully. PAUSE is a reminder when providing quality written feedback to help students reach distinguished writing as defined by the subject objectives.

This work will present completed research of an acronym that can be used by subject matter experts to provide writing feedback for students that is positive, at once, understandable, specific, and encouraging. Attendees will learn the research behind each word and then engage with providing feedback for writing samples so that they leave with a document of cached feedback to help them get started in their own courses.

References:
[1] Cleary, N.V. (2011). How Antonio graduated on out of here: Improving the success of adult students with an individualized writing course. Journal of Basic Writing, 30(1). p. 34-63.
[2] Jerald, C.D. (2006). School Culture: The Hidden Curriculum. Washington, DC: The Center for
[3] Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement. It retrieved from www.centerforcsri.org

Keywords:

Online teaching and learning, academic writing, feedback.