Re: KP/Context

pprior who-is-at ux1.cso.uiuc.edu
Wed, 13 Mar 1996 14:32:31 -0600

Ellice writes:
>Paul,
>I very much agree with your summary of the points that Judy and I were
>making about this topic. That was what we tried to argue in our
>Cognition and Instruction article.

Interesting (I haven't had a chance to read the article, but will soon).
In my own research on the socially mediated negotiation of writing tasks in
graduate seminars and research teams, I've found similar complexity and
heterogeneity. Which leads back to the earlier question in this thread of
how, given the diverse ways that multiple histories come to fuse in an
interaction, to intentionally design joint or collaborative work so that it
facilitates particular processes and outcomes. Addressing that challenge
seems to involve aligning life histories and designing institutions as well
as setting task parameters.

Paul Prior
Assistant Professor
Department of English
University of Illinois
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Tel: 217-333-3024