McGrath, Laura, ed. Collaborative Approaches to the Digital in English Studies. Logan, UT: Computers and Composition Digital P/Utah State UP, 2011. Web. http://ccdigitalpress.org/ebooks-and-projects/cad

Conclusion

Jeffery Sayers closes the collection by adding his voice to the conversation about the importance of play (as discussed in previous chapters (5 and 9) of the collection) in his chapter “Tinker-centric pedagogy in literature and language classrooms." Sayers begins by explaining tinkering as a form of play that implies “a lack of expertise, technique, or formal training" (279). Going further, Sayer posits tinkering as critical for fostering transformative student learning experiences for students with a lack of familiarity to both English Studies and digital technologies. Echoing the sentiments of Liu and Bulger et al., from the preceding chapter, Sayer explains tinker-centric pedagogy as “motivated by the use of boundary objects...being put to different uses" (291)—through low-stakes, collaborative experimentation, students learn and uphold course objectives. Beyond sharing his five principles for tinker-centric pedagogy, Sayer includes links to Websites, assignment prompts, and an assignment sequence worthwhile to any teacher-scholar. According to Sayer, furthering the study and implementation of tinker-centric pedagogy in English Studies is the best way to uphold collaborative and contributive teaching and research.

In the last line of his essay, Sayers provides a selling point for the relevance of this entire, extensive collection by stating: "with the increasing prevalence of digital media in higher education, English is in transition. And we cannot afford to address that transition individually" (295). Sayer’s statement extends and supports the voices of all of the contributors of this collection, seeking to promote collaborative approaches to teaching and research in the 21st century. This collection is a significant contribution to the field of English Studies; it is an invaluable resource to individuals at all levels of interest and expertise with collaborative approaches to digital teaching, scholarship, and learning.

Reference

Mission and goals. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2012, from http://ccdigitalpress.org/about