How Composition Became A Foundation For Learning

Before we can understand how language is a tool for learning, let's take a look at how back in time at the teaching of composition.  In primary school, we all learn the foundation of the writing system, letters, and numbers, and begin reading.  Then we learn how to use that information to write on our own.  Later writing is called composition, as in music once you learn it you can compose, correct?  Well not so fast, that's not how it works; is it? 

Language is a skill-based tool that needs cultivating.  Teaching composition helps students understand how to use this tool in our world.  The idea that language is a tool is relatively new, let's take a look back in time to see how scientists came to understand composition and language skills, how they taught it to students, and what made them decide to change.  

There are four periods specifically that will help us understand the history of learning and specifically the history of composition. They are Current-Traditional, Expressivism,  Cognitivism, and Social-Epistemic.  I hope to show you soon how the digital age is still transforming how scientists view learning and composition. 

Current - Traditional Theory  (1870 - 1960)

This era of teaching was very disciplined, prescriptive, and mechanical.  There was a defined way of doing things and students were taught to memorize the style prescribed to them.  Literature was meant to be recited and less emphasis was established on the creativity of the author.  Professors of this era were under the impression that learning was simply a gathering of information and equated this with cognition with knowledge.  Instead of assisting teachers in primary and secondary schools, they blamed them for the ill-prepared students entering college.  Students were expected to know multiple languages and such as Latin and Greek. Early literature and composition classes began forming and ideas about what "good writing" began to surface.  In this way, college-educated professionals could choose what students entered their schools and from which preparatory colleges.  The idea that "good writing" was prescriptive and could be copied by students helped pave the way to install gate-keeping ideas in the education system, allowing racism and privilege to thrive.  

Keep in mind that colleges were just building in the U.S. and in this age, scientists were validating their fields.  Research into what was "good writing" helped pave the way to understanding writing structure and form.  However, this age happened in a time when not everyone was equal and biased ideals helped create doctrines that substantiate their beliefs.  Testing taking and teaching ideas were built upon a system of privileged schools and who's whom in this era.  We can all agree, this era set the stage to undermine some and advance others set the stage for change later.  However, Maurissa Cowdrick explains this era perfectly in her composition class discussion; "This style of teaching, at the time, simply supposed that some students would be capable and some would not. Essentially, if you were not magically gifted the ability to write to the chosen standard that this group of elite men decided was 'intellectually genius', you would be left to drown."

Regardless, they had some ideas in this era that are still being taught in schools today.  Competition between scholars began as the field of English and Composition competed with the sciences to research and discover more information.  Scientists like Kitzhaber, who began Composition 1 for freshmen.  The placement exam began in this era, it is controversial but we still see students taking an ACT or SAT exam.  A composition textbook came about, ideas from Hugh Blair and Adams Sherman Hill helped define writing and attempted to understand "good writing" as correct, clear, force, and elegant.  Although still up for debate, the idea of a prescriptive paragraph and clear grammar rules were being taught.  Grammar was held to a high standard as was the vocabulary and structure of the writing.  It was near impossible to memorize and write clearly in the way colleges wanted, all while speaking another language or using a totally different vocabulary at home.   This age progressed slowly and modeled itself from the German teaching structure because most professionals went overseas to study and return to the U.S. forming our colleges here.  If you understand where to put a comma or semicolon, then you may have learned something from this era.

Expressionism  (1960 - 1980)

As society grew, so did the idea that there was a writing process.  The science of psychology emerged as a way to understand the development of children.  The idea of process theory and constructivism happened in this age.  The focus was set on the individualized learning of a student and also thought process.  Psychologists such as Piaget and Vygotsky helped pave the way to developing teaching strategies and understanding the social aspect of learning.  Vygotsky worked to understand how dialogue and writing intersect as well as how each student brings something of their own to their writing.  The prescriptive idea of a set structure was in question and now this era was understanding that cultural differences and social differences created a relative experience in the classroom.  Composition brought back the idea of rhetorical expression and tried to free themselves of a system created from rigidness and correctness.  Donald Murray and Peter Elbow agree that students want to be engaged in the learning process and that they should be free to express themselves without the constraints of correctness, grammar, and rules.  Understanding the process of writing, helped scientists understand the way students understand information, digest it, and express it.  

A huge push in this era for equality divided the country, but also helped psychologists understand students better.  Society began to work toward a new system of schools and teaching where students were the priority and not a reflection of the teacher.  Science began uncovering the brain and worked to understand the cognitive stages as well as reasoning.  The ideas of psychology and the disapproval of current-traditional hierarchy and formality set the stage for new ideas and growth in this era.

Cognitivism (1970 - 1990)

As science advanced, so did the idea of cognitivism.  Scholars like Mina Shaughnessy and Paulo Freire shaped the way teachers thought about their students.  They wanted to understand the student and the place they were in understanding, using both parts expressivism and process theory they hoped to engage students to use the language they knew.  Some big ideas came out of this era in the way of teaching and equality.  Freire came to understand how language formed from social situations, it grew and evolved, and that students were inhibited by the idea of failure.  Teya Viola writes that "Freire determined that awareness of one's situational placement, both conscious and subconscious impacted their beliefs about who they are, what they are capable of, and how they express that through language. Freire connected that what a person thinks about themselves, directly impacts and reflects the way they communicate through language."  The work of Mina Shaughnessy is considered foundational in paving the way for teaching writing.  Teya also did a scholarly report similarly on Mina Shaughnessy where she claimed "Her controversial view that the problems in education was a systemic one, and not due to “bad students” is likely one of the reasons she was passed up as Dean of Basic Education at City College of New York in 1974."

Social Epistemic and Post Process Theory (1990 - Present)

Moving into the time we are living in, this era circles around back to the discussion of intelligence.  The Social Epistemic and Post Process theory engages all aspects of discourse, taking into consideration the writer's language and dialect, social situation, and the writer as an individual.  It is important to understand that at the beginning of this era scholars were focused on post-process and the act of writing. Then they moved toward a newer idea instead of a structured system every writer uses to a focus on individualism and the art of writing.  Austin Frickle explains this era best in his composition class discussion: "Post-process theory favors an abandonment of codified and universally applicable systems in favor of tailored and individualistic approaches to composition (teaching writing). This is not synonymous with a belief that writing can’t be taught and that instruction is a waste of time or detrimental. It accentuates that there is no well-defined process, not that processes cannot be taught or refined (Breuch 161). In fact, teaching that there are de facto systems or processes that cannot be changed, that are universally applicable, generalizing the writing experience, enforces systems of writing that perpetuate inequitable positioning and societal hierarchies. Forget “good” and “bad” writing and approach texts pedagogically for what they are to the best of your current ability (Vandenberg et al 16)."

Image source: "Notes and Queries" The Journal of Education Vol 40 No 1, June 28 1894