Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Dec 2016

Invisible Transfer: An Unexpected Finding in the Pursuit of Transfer

Danica L. Schieber Sam Houston State University

Abstract

Much research shows that students do not transfer learning well from one class to the next. This study was designed to investigate if students were transferring rhetorical strategies from their disciplinary courses to advanced writing courses. The findings suggest that business majors not only transferred rhetorical knowledge from their other courses, but they did so in a way that is invisible to both themselves and their own writing instructors.

Journal
Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
Published
2016-12-01
DOI
10.1177/2329490616660816
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy advanced composition
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (5)

  1. McCaughey (2026)
    Model as Missed Opportunity for Writing Transfer During Career Change
    Written Communication
  2. Melonçon et al. (2024)
    Back to the Basics: Uncovering the Rhetoric Student Learning Outcome
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  3. Rounsaville et al. (2022)
    Relationality in the Transfer of Writing Knowledge
    College Composition and Communication
  4. Melonçon et al. (2020)
    A Field-Wide Metasynthesis of Pedagogical Research in Technical and Professiona…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Schieber et al. (2019)
    Using Reflections to Gauge Audience Awareness in Business and Professional Comm…
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly

References (35) · 12 in this index

  1. ANSON et al. (1990)
    Moving Beyond the Academic Community: Transitional Stages in Professional Writing
    Written Communication
  2. Artemeva (2008)
    Toward a Unified Social Theory of Genre Learning
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Artemeva et al. (1999)
    From page to stage: How theories of genre and situated learning help introduce …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Beach K. D. (2003)
    Between school and work: New perspectives on transfer and boundary-crossing
  5. Beaufort A. (1999)
    Writing in the real world: Making the transition from school to work
Show all 35 →
  1. Blakeslee A. M. (2007)
    Becoming a writing researcher
  2. Brent (2011)
    Transfer, Transformation, and Rhetorical Knowledge: Insights From Transfer Theory
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Dias P. (1999)
    Worlds apart: Acting and writing in academic and workplace contexts
  4. Downs et al. (2007)
    Teaching about Writing, Righting Misconceptions:
    College Composition and Communication
  5. Driscoll (2011)
    Connected, Disconnected, or Uncertain: Student Attitudes about Future Writing C…
    Across the Disciplines
  6. Fecho (2003)
    Yeki Bood/Yeki Na Bood: Writing and Publishing as a Teacher Researcher
    Research in the Teaching of English
  7. Fleischer C. (1995)
    Composing teacher-research: A prosaic history
  8. Ford (2004)
    Knowledge Transfer Across Disciplines: Tracking RhetoricalStrategies From a Tec…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  9. Green et al. (2015)
    Teaching Real-World Applications of Business Statistics Using Communication to …
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  10. Haskell R. E. (2000)
    Transfer of learning: Cognition and instruction
  11. Lamb C. W. (2011)
    MKTG
  12. 10.3102/00346543052001031
     ↗
  13. McCarthy (1987)
    A Stranger in Strange Lands: A College Student Writing Across the Curriculum
    Research in the Teaching of English
  14. Moore J. (2012). Mapping the questions: The state of writing-related transfer research. Composition Forum, 26…
  15. Nelms G. (2007)
    WPA: Writing Program Administration
  16. Nowacek R. S. (2011)
    Agents of integration: Understanding transfer as a rhetorical act
  17. Nowacek R. S. (2013)
    Paper presented at Critical Transitions, Elon Conference on Transfer
  18. Perkins D. N. (1988)
    Educational Leadership
  19. 10.1177/1080569912461051
     ↗
  20. 10.37514/JBW-J.2008.27.1.02
     ↗
  21. Roozen (2009)
    From Journals to Journalism: Tracing Trajectories of Literate Development
    College Composition and Communication
  22. Roozen (2010)
    Tracing Trajectories of Practice: Repurposing in One Student’s Developing Disci…
    Written Communication
  23. Schunk D. H. (2004)
    Learning theories: An educational perspective
  24. Smart G. (2002)
    Technostyle
  25. Stake R. E. (1995)
    The art of case study research
  26. Tuomi-Gröhn T. (2003)
    Between school and work: New perspectives on transfer and boundary-crossing
  27. 10.4324/9781410609724
     ↗
  28. Wardle E. (2007)
    WPA: Writing Program Administration
  29. Wolcott H. F. (1994)
    Transforming qualitative data: Description, analysis, and interpretation
  30. 10.2307/j.ctt6wrr95
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 5 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Pedagogy Oct 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy advanced composition creative writing writing across the curriculum graduate education two-year college service learning teacher development technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions archival research multimodality artificial intelligence literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies literary studies editorial matter
  2. Composition Forum 2022
    Connecting Work-Integrated Learning and Writing Transfer: Possibilities and Promise for Writing Studies ↗
    Michael-John DePalma, Lilian W. Mina, Kara Taczak, Michelle J. Eady, Radhika Jaidev, and Ina Alexandra Machura
    rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy advanced composition graduate education transfer threshold concepts professional writing
  3. Journal of Academic Writing Dec 2020
    Collaborating between Writing and STEM: Teaching Disciplinary Genres, Researching Disciplinary Interventions, and Engaging Science Audiences ↗
    Rachel C Riedner; Bill Briscoe; Alexander Van der Horst; Carol Hayes; Gary White
    rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis writing pedagogy advanced composition writing across the curriculum graduate education teacher development collaborative writing professional writing scientific writing empirical research race and writing book reviews
  4. Composition Forum 2015
    Film in the Advanced Composition Classroom: A Tapestry of Style ↗
    Pearce Durst
    rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy advanced composition multimodality literacy studies
  5. College Composition and Communication Dec 2012
    Review Essay: Writing Inside and Outside the Margins ↗
    Linda Adler-Kassner
    rhetorical criticism genre theory african american rhetorics writing pedagogy advanced composition graduate education teacher development multilingual writers race and writing disability studies book reviews