More important, perhaps, our observation of the three teachers who participated in the study suggests a taxonomy of teaching styles that we can use to help other teachers plan their time in the computer lab. Jason, a veteran teacher who focuses on invention and revision in his writing pedagogy, uses the computer lab pretty much as he does the regular classroom. In the regular classroom, we saw students discuss essays and use the ideas from those essays to generate and develop topics of their own choosing. Jason focuses on logic and argumentative technique, conducting class by Socratic questioning and holding the students to high intellectual level of discussion. Once the writing process is under way, the class centers around critique and revision of their papers, which go through several drafts.
Students regularly participate in peer review exercises and confer personally with the teacher.
Jason uses the computer lab in a traditional manner. He allows students to begin drafting their papers and as they work, conferences briefly with each student, answering questions about his written comments on the previous draft and making suggestions for development. Students use the lab as they wish, for writing, revision, or research. As students begin to leave at the end of class, Jason stays on to work with those who need further help with their drafts, guiding their revisions on the computer screen. Students find the ability to revise instantly in response to their teacher's suggestions to be helpful.