Acquiring academic writing skills: A comparison between online and face-to-face teaching in the academic literacy classroom
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56285/jltVol60iss1a6536Keywords:
academic literacy, online learning, social presence, student engagement, social constructivismAbstract
As a result of COVID-19, much attention in the Academic Literacy (AL) classroom has shifted to online methods of pedagogical practice in the post-pandemic era. As such, the pandemic provides an opportunity to juxtapose online and face-to-face platforms, specifically with regards to teaching academic writing skills in a multilingual class-room. This paper therefore analyses the effects of shifting completely to an online environment, and assesses the extent to which students’ learning potential is hindered. The AL module attempts to employ a social constructivist method which facilitates the acquiring of AL and writing skills, however online learning might interfere with this learning process because of the lack of social presence. This study compares two cohorts: when teaching for the module moved solely online during 2021, and when instruction returned to face-to-face in 2022. Drawing on data from these two consecutive years, a mixed methods approach was followed to compare data from students’ essay writing tests, attendance marks and students’ perceptions of online learning. The findings provide insight into the teaching of writing skills using the social constructivist approach in the online classroom and how this compares to face-to-face achievement of writing skills. The article also explores some of the restrictions posed by an online environment and how to bolster online learning through social presence.
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