Students must write at least two pages in response to a prompt or in response to another student. Threads develop over time between students, and they learn what it means to be involved in an academic conversation. When I respond to the students who have written in the common book, I respond to them individually. When I use email discussion groups, I respond to the group as a whole. I asked students to consider which of their own faultlines were activated in response to an assigned reading.
Different situations activate different perspectives.
Then process theories focused our attention on the writer. Now we've expanded our focus to consider the social, cultural, and political contexts. I don't think it's a matter of replacing one theory with another, but of adding to our knowledge. My own work has centered on the importance of reflexivity for learning. I am interested in how ethnographic methods and perspectives can inform the teaching of writing and help students learn to develop the essayistic stance, an open, dialogic and reflexive perspective.