Many more classes make extensive use of email. Early in my Vanderbilt career, I found that our students, while very bright, often were reluctant to disagree openly with one another in class. In response, I started to experiment with intensive collaboration in small groups, followed by plenary discussions. In what follows I first describe how CAI worked in basic composition and then in my advanced honors class. My conclusions bear on both kinds of course.
Most basic writers devote too little time to invention.
To address this problem, I sometimes had students do an invention sequence in which the computer offers prompts I programmed in advance. Students can print out their work or leave it on the server. After they became acclimated to the program, I required them to do these outside of class reserving the lab for collaborative activities. This intensive exchange often led to ideas for papers. Students could also switch into another small group to practice writing their way into new discourse communities 2.