(Re)actions: Affecting Change through Inquiry-Based Writing

(Re)actions challenges students to think beyond the university or college setting and combine the influences and writing practices from various disciplines and real-world experiences and rely upon collaboration in order to respond to social problems. The text presents a hybrid pedagogy that combines social epistemic tenets with problem-based learning (PBL). By working through problems that rely upon communication and collaboration in order to be solved, students are inspired to forge connections between composition and the larger world while also being encouraged to continue learning beyond the walls of the classroom. With this unique approach students emerge from their composition courses with a solid critical foundation, a broader and more complete understanding of how discourse functions, and a more useful collection of tools to approach various discourse communities and types of writing in the real world. This text is appropriate for first and second semester courses in composition with an emphasis on argument and social issues.