The College Writing Toolkit - Tried and Tested Ideas for Teaching College Writing - Martha C. Pennington
17. Scavenger Hunt: A Model for Digital Composing Processes
The College Writing Toolkit - Tried and Tested Ideas for Teaching College Writing - Martha C. Pennington
Sally Chandler [+]
Kean University
Mark Sutton [+]
Kean University
Description
Sally Chandler and Mark Sutton, in “Scavenger Hunt: A Model for Digital Composing Processes,” present an online Scavenger Hunt as a way to help students learn to manage composing in digital environments. Working with first-year university students, they use the Hunt as an early assignment both to develop students’ ability to utilize course management software and to socialize them into the skills and practices they will need in order to learn effectively in digital spaces. Chandler and Sutton describe a cluster of writing related activities in the Scavenger Hunt, such as reading critically, gathering information, giving and receiving feedback, and responding to writing prompts. They stress collaborative learning as a key part of this activity, since one of its intended learning outcomes is to encourage “thinking about writing as intimately tied to social processes.” This assignment continues to evolve as the authors respond to student behaviors and comments and to changes in the needs and abilities of students from year to year.