Exploring the writing process across modalities: learning in face-to-face and online classrooms

Abstract

This study was conducted in a public institution of higher education in western Puerto Rico in order to explore the effects of adapting a traditional face-to-face intermediate writing course for second language learners into a digital online modality. Classroom action research was adopted to specifically consider students engagement with the writing process, their face-toface and online interactions and responses, and how these shaped student outcomes. A focus group interview and writing conferences served as primary sources of data and were narratively and reflexively analyzed from a social constructivist theoretical standpoint. Results demonstrated that differences exist across traditional and digital modes of instruction in relation to peer interactions, independence and/or dependence of instructor, and drafting revisions of essays using the writing process as a roadmap for students’ production of written material.