Lee-Ann Kastman Breuch, Ph.D.
Lee-Ann Kastman Breuch is an associate professor in the Department of Rhetoric at the University of Minnesota. A past recipient of a University of Minnesota TEL grant, she is also author of Virtual Peer Review: Teaching and Learning about Writing in Online Environments (SUNY Press, 2004). Her research addresses writing theory and pedagogy in technical disciplines, composition, and online environments; she is especially interested in issues of evaluation of online instruction. She teaches courses in technical communication, research methods, teacher training, and usability testing. Lee-Ann is a former director of the Online Writing Center, an online tutorial service at the University of Minnesota, and is a board member of the University of Minnesota Usability Services Laboratory.
Teaching Activities
Interests
Breuch teaches courses in first-year writing, technical communication, research methods, teacher training, and usability testing.
University Courses
She has taught the following University of Minnesota courses:
- Advanced Public Speaking;
- Rhet 1101: Writing to Inform, Convince, and Persuade;
- Rhet 3266: Communication and Discussion in Small Group Decision Making;
- Rhet 3562: Writing in the Professions;
- Rhet 4501: Human Factors and Usability in Scientific and Technical Communication;
- Rhet 5531: Development of Principles in Technical Communication Pedagogy I;
- Rhet 8012: Research Methods in Scientific and Technical Communication; and
- Rhet 8540: Special Topics in Scientific and Technical Communication Pedagogy.
Research Activities
Interests
Breuch's research interests include
- pedagogy;
- computer-based writing technologies in college and university instruction; and
- technological literacy.
TEL Experience
Breuch's TEL publications include the following:
Breuch, Lee-Ann M. Kastman. Virtual Peer Review: Teaching and Learning about Writing in Online Environments. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, in press.
------. "Enhancing Online Collaboration: Virtual Peer Review in the Writing Classroom." Chapter in Online Education: Global Questions, Local Answers. Edited by Kelli Cargile Cook and Keith Grant-Davie. Baywood Publishing (in press).
------. "Thinking Critically about Technological Literacy: Developing A Framework to Guide Computer Pedagogy in Technical Communication." Technical Communication Quarterly 11, no. 3 (2002): 267-288.
Fellowship Project
Breuch is developing an online writer's workshop that would serve as a learning object for the multi-section writing-intensive courses in Rhetoric. Students in this workshop will
- work in small groups;
- view each other's papers online;
- provide intertextual and global commentary electronically;
- have the option to chat synchronously about each other's writing; and
- view bios of each student so they know who is reviewing their papers.
Her goals include
- improving student writing through exchange and commentary;
- developing a sense of place or community among writers;
- developing a learning object that is appealing to writers and motivates them to workshop online; and
- encouraging students to develop guidelines for productive and satisfying online group work.
She envisions that she will create a template or structure for the workshop using existing tools, such as WebCT with Microsoft Word, but she is open to any options she might learn about during her fellowship.
Most research about online writing workshops describes unique contexts at individual institutions. One innovative aspect of this project is that the workshop would be a learning object that could be used in several courses and, quite possibly, for a number of contexts. In addition, as a learning object, this workshop would be built to facilitate small and large group rather than one-to-one interactions.
Another innovative aspect is that it would create a Web-based writing workshop. Most literature about online writing workshops describes the work of individual instructors that are limited to specific software programs (Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment by Daedalus® and CommonSpace™ are two examples). The Web-based nature of this online writing workshop would mean greater accessibility for students and instructors; if it works well enough, it could also be a model for online writing workshops across the University and even across the nation. Ulimately, the educational impact of this project is the potential to create an online writer's community for the purposes of improving writing rather than to build solidarity or form relationships.
Consultation Areas
Breuch is available to consult with faculty members about the following educational technology topics:
- using asynchronous discussions in the classroom;
- incorporating online peer review in writing-intensive classrooms;
- using WebCT to support writing-intensive instruction;
- evaluating online environments;
- assessing usability of online learning environments; and
- using WebCT, Blackboard, SurveyMonkey, e-mail, and Listservs.
Contact Information
To schedule a consultation appointment, contact Breuch:
- Office: 88 Classroom Office Building
- Telephone: (612) 624-6727
- E-mail: lkbreuch@umn.edu
