Teaching Analysis to Professional Writing Students

Teaching Analysis to Professional Writing Students is designed to help the professional writing teacher design appropriate analytical activities for the classroom. Students with no experience with a particular kind of analysis may "borrow" expertise in one-page heuristics that name categories for analysis. Students then form their own internal category/instantiation pair, extending their knowledge and gaining practical experience at the same time. As support for this theory, Smith uses cognitive load theory and diagrammatic iconicity theory (first developed by C.S. Peirce) to explain how visual elements of the heuristic relay information about the relations between the ideas represented. Students use the heuristics to extend their web of knowledge further while performing original analyses at a skill level higher than on their own.

Autorentext

Susan Nelson Smith PhD is a graduate of Pomona College, ClaremontGraduate School, and The University of Arizona, where shecurrently teaches Business Communication to juniors and seniorsat Eller College of Management.

Klappentext

Teaching Analysis to Professional Writing Students isdesigned to help the professional writing teacherdesign appropriate analytical activities for theclassroom. Students with no experience with aparticular kind of analysis may "borrow" expertise inone-page heuristics that name categories foranalysis. Students then form their own internalcategory/instantiation pair, extending theirknowledge and gaining practical experience at thesame time. As support for this theory, Smith usescognitive load theory and diagrammatic iconicitytheory (first developed by C.S. Peirce) to explainhow visual elements of the heuristic relayinformation about the relations between the ideasrepresented. Students use the heuristics to extendtheir web of knowledge further while performingoriginal analyses at a skill level higher than ontheir own.