Imitation, modeling, emulation: these are terms frequently appearing in reference to the teaching of writing. Their history includes the model teacher, the materials used as models, and the modeling method. Two-thirds of this work focuses on imitation's applications in the teaching of composition in America 1636-1988 (an overview of the "petty" or grammar schools, the private academies, and the early colleges). The remaining third traces imitation's use from pre-Greco-Roman times through the Renaissance. Imitation methods date back to the beginnings of rhetoric; they were the teaching paradigm until at least the Middle Ages. The ideal model teacher had a close relationship with few students at a time, was a moral model, and was a practicing professional. Models were at first current speeches, but expanded to include poetry, sermons, letters, and finally all types of prose. Problems in application occurred when models became dated or removed from their purpose. The imitation method included imitation of the teacher, practice, prelection (criticism and analysis), and emulation, the point at which the student takes off to write original work. In America imitation was clearly the inherited paradigm, but it was weighed down by its legacy from the Middle Ages and Renaissance: over emphasis on style and grammar. Today imitation methods are surfacing as ways of teaching composition. Research is in the embryonic stages. The use of models and of classical imitation methods in today's classrooms seems to be increasing. A study of what imitation was and how it was used may help in avoiding its possible problems and applying its many merits.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/184358 |
| Date | January 1988 |
| Creators | Dickinson, Barbara Ann. |
| Contributors | Enos, Theresa, Roen, Duane, Fleming, Margaret |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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