Tracing the Influences of Praxis on the Development of an Open Corequisite Writing Textbook

Dawn Atkinson Montana Technological University ; Stacey Corbitt Montana Technological University

Abstract

Although retrospective project reports are common in the materials development literature, accounts of textbook writing sessions are rare; so too are accounts of open textbook production. Open textbooks are learning resources that are free to use and oftentimes adapt by virtue of their copyright permissions. The authors used concurrent verbalization and interviews to document writing episodes while preparing their first book, an open textbook devised for corequisite technical writing courses. Corequisite designs pair content courses with explicit skill-building modules as a means to support underprepared learners in higher education in the United States. Qualitative content analysis of the data revealed how teaching and other praxis influenced the open textbook’s composition: in the authors’ applications of technical writing principles, pedagogical reasoning skills, and nonteaching work. The findings may encourage open textbook writers to exploit their established composing practices and knowledge bases to proceed with textbook production. In addition, the article highlights the usefulness of concurrent verbalization to textbook research and identifies the various materials development opportunities open textbook projects provide. It also contributes to the underresearched area of textbook production by exposing the complexities of open textbook development and how two novice authors negotiated them during writing episodes.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2023-04-01
DOI
10.1177/07410883221146550
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (81) · 2 in this index

  1. 10.1080/1743727X.2018.1439003
  2. An Interview With Heather Buchanan ELT Coursebook Author. (2021). Folio, 21(1), 41-42.
  3. Atkinson D. (2013). Expertise in ELT textbook writing [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Lancaster Universi…
  4. Journal of Writing Research
  5. 10.1177/0033688219893119
Show all 81 →
  1. 10.1177/13621688211040201
  2. 10.1177/13621688221087795
  3. Atkinson D., Corbitt S. (2021). Mindful technical writing: An introduction to the fundamentals. OER Commons. …
  4. Atkinson D., Corbitt S. (2022). Developing a corequisite writing textbook: How two novices handled the comple…
  5. Atkinson D., Raymond S. (2021). Introducing technical writing. In Atkinson D., Corbitt S., Mindful technical …
  6. 10.1080/10668926.2017.1398687
  7. College Composition and Communication
  8. 10.5944/openpraxis.8.4.336
  9. First year teacher: A case study
  10. 10.1177/0022487193044002003
  11. 10.1016/0742-051X(94)00005-Q
  12. 10.2307/1180195
  13. 10.5944/openpraxis.8.2.290
  14. 10.1515/CJAL-2020-0023
  15. 10.1017/CBO9780511816796.002
  16. 10.1002/9780470753460.ch18
  17. 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2008.00227.x
  18. 10.1017/9781316480748.012
  19. 10.1017/9781316480748.038
  20. 10.19173/irrodl.v21i4.4756
  21. 10.1525/abt.2018.80.6.410
  22. Florida Virtual Campus. (2019, March 8). 2018 student textbook and course materials survey: Results and findi…
  23. Griffiths R., Joshi E., Pellerin E., Wingard A. (2022). Teaching and learning with open educational resources…
  24. 10.1057/9781137276285_11
  25. 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01134
  26. 10.1177/0033688216645472
  27. 10.1111/modl.12683
  28. 10.1177/1052562906298443
  29. 10.4324/b22783-42
  30. 10.4324/9781315833729
  31. 10.11647/OBP.0103.09
  32. 10.1080/0022027940260305
  33. Unity and diversity in language use
  34. 10.1057/9780230596672
  35. 10.1093/elt/ccp104
  36. 10.1093/elt/ccl021
  37. 10.1016/j.tate.2019.102991
  38. 10.1017/9781316480748.023
  39. Kiai A. (2014). ‘I enjoy teaching by writing’: Experiences of Kenyan secondary school English textbook author…
  40. Kim M. (2010). Expertise in EFL textbook evaluation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Lancaster University…
  41. 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01119.x
  42. 10.1080/10382046.2016.1220125
  43. 10.1080/10382046.2020.1743931
  44. 10.1016/j.jslw.2020.100755
  45. Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook
  46. Nagle C., Vitez K. (2020). Fixing the broken textbook market (2nd ed.). U.S. PIRG Education Fund. https://stu…
  47. 10.4324/b22783
  48. Material writer’s guide
  49. Getting started: Materials writers on materials writing
  50. English language teaching materials: Theory and practice
  51. Richards J. C. (2015, December 21). Competence and performance #10 – Pedagogical reasoning skills. World of B…
  52. The coding manual for qualitative researchers
  53. Salisbury K. (2005). The edge of expertise? Towards an understanding of listening test item writing as profes…
  54. 10.1057/9780230523470_12
  55. 10.1075/tblt.8.10sam
  56. Schmid B. J. (2020, June 22-26). Development of an open textbook for engineering economics [Conference sessio…
  57. 10.17763/haer.57.1.j463w79r56455411
  58. 10.4324/b22783-41
  59. 10.4324/9781315730936
  60. 10.53841/bpsptr.2017.23.1.79
  61. 10.1177/0098628318782665
  62. Material writer’s guide
  63. 10.1016/0889-4906(94)00028-C
  64. 10.1080/17501229.2015.1090998
  65. 10.1016/j.acalib.2019.03.010
  66. 10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102220
  67. 10.1017/S0261444811000528
  68. The complete guide to the theory and practice of materials development for language learning
  69. 10.1007/978-3-319-73253-4
  70. 10.1080/13540600903057179
  71. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2021). Open educational resources (OER). h…
  72. Vaismoradi M., Snelgrove S. (2019). Theme in qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis. Forum Qualit…
  73. Vitez K. (2018). An action plan for affordable textbooks. The Student PIRGS. https://studentpirgs.org/assets/…
  74. 10.1080/02680513.2017.1354762
  75. 10.1136/heartjnl-2019-315584
  76. 10.1007/s11528-018-0263-z