An examination of Robert Zoellner's "Talk-Write Pedagogy" (a dialog, written in 1969, about a student's inability to write what he meant) in the context of current composition theory and research demonstrates the cogency of his ideas for today. Zoellner contends that the "think-write" pedagogy has failed students because it demands that students internalize the rules of some abstract concept about what constitutes good writing, and causes them to write words for the teacher instead of for themselves. Zoellner bases his talk-write pedagogy upon the concept of modality and of intermodal transfer to explain how the reinforcement of one behavior or skill improves the performance of another. Writing should improve talk, and talk should improve writing. In the talk-write pedagogy, the teacher and student engage in a rapid exchange of vocal to scribal dialogue that allows the teacher to immediately reinforce successive and closer approximations to some desired behavior. Zoellner's dialogic pedagogy helps the student to create a unique voice and address real readers. Zoellner anticipated many of the concerns which composition theorists and researchers such as Lisa Ede, Andrea Lunsford, and Nancy Sommers are dealing with today. His ideas are still as cogent today as they were when he wrote them 21 years ago. (Twenty-eight notes are included.) (PRA)
Authors
- Peer Reviewed
- F
- Publication Type
- ['Opinion Papers', 'Speeches/Meeting Papers', 'Reports - Evaluative']
- Published in
- United States of America
