The Writerly Framework is a novel new way of thinking about teaching and learning as a creative, generative act of meaning making. Based on the work of Roland Barthes and augmented by the theories of Mikhail Bakhtin and Umberto Eco, the Writerly Framework provides a new protocol for observing and evaluating online courses.
Barthes (1974) argued that there are essentially two kinds of texts: readerly texts and writerly texts. Readerly texts, which constitute the vast majority of texts, are generally straightforward and offer a limited number of possible interpretations. Writerly texts, on the other hand, require the reader to participate in the production of the text’s meaning, where reading becomes an act of (re)writing and that the making of meaning is shared between the author and reader. Or, as Barthes put it, the purpose is to”to make the reader no longer a consumer, but a producer of the text” (1974, p. 4).
Barthes also argued that the only way we can credibly evaluate the quality of a text is to determine how writerly it is. Our contention is that this model aligns very nicely with teaching and learning in higher education, where teachers are like the author in Barthes system, students are the reader, and course content is the text. But also that the course itself is the text.
The protocol is divided into three main areas:
- Creating Spaces
- Engaging in Dialogue
- Making Meaning
Reviewers are asked to consider each of these areas holistically and for individual elements in the course, particularly in regard to Design, Engagement, and Assessment. This consideration is also not based on any kind quantitative scale or measurement, but rather on identifying Exemplary Moments of the writerly and/or Opportunities for making a “moment” more writerly.