ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes research into what does and does not make writing-intensive courses “high impact” and suggests ways to integrate writing into online courses that will most enhance student learning and engagement. Providing a discussion thread for questions about assignments and giving students annotated samples go a long way toward meeting the need to provide structure/clear writing expectations in online courses. The best way to understand “interactive writing processes” is as activities in which students write and faculty respond to their writing. Although rubrics can help faculty members manage the workload that comes with writing assignments and can offer students important information about faculty members’ expectations, they are not necessarily the best choice for giving students feedback on drafts. Faculty can mitigate the literacy load that typically occurs in feedback-rich classes by using structured peer review and screencast technology to provide rich, rapport building responses to students.
