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Dr Mary Lea

Dr Mary Lea

Reader in Academic & Digital Literacies

The Open University Institute of Educational Technology IET Academic Team

Profile

Mary Lea is a Reader in Academic and Digital Literacies. Her main area of research is in the field of academic literacies. She has carried out extensive research into student writing in a range of different university settings, including, most recently, online teaching and learning. Her research looks at the relationship between writing, learning and the construction of disciplinary knowledge and how students and academics make meaning through writing practices. Her present research is on literacies and technologies in online course delivery.

Publications

Authored Book
Creme, Phyllis and Lea, Mary (2008). Writing at University: A guide for students (3rd edition). Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.
Goodfellow, Robin and Lea, Mary (2007). Challenging E-Learning in the University: a Literacies Perspective. Maidenhead & New York: McGraw Hill, Society for Research into Higher Education, Open University Press.
Creme, Phyllis and Lea, Mary R. (2003). Writing at university: a guide for students. UK: Open University Press.
Book Chapter
Lea, Mary (2013). Academic literacies in the digital university: integrating individual accounts with network practice. In: Goodfellow, Robin and Lea, Mary eds. Literacy in the Digital University: Learning as Social Practice in a Digital World. Research into Higher Education. Routledge Taylor & Francis, (In Press).
Lea, Mary R. (2011). New genres in the academy: issues of practice, meaning making and identity. In: Castello, Montserrat and Donahue, Christiane eds. University Writing: Selves and Texts in Academic Societies. Studies in Writing (24). Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, pp. 93–109.
Lea, Mary (2009). Writers and meaning making in the context of online learning. In: Carter, A and Lillis, Theresa eds. Why Writing Matters: issues of access and identity in writing research and pedagogy. Studies in Written Language and Literacy (12). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Russell, David R.; Lea, Mary; Parker, Jan; Street, Brian and Donahue, Tiane (2009). Exploring notions of genre in 'academic literacies' and 'writing across the curriculum': approaches across countries and contexts. In: Bazerman, Charles; Bonini, Adair and Figueiredo, Débora eds. Genre in a Changing World. Perspectives on Writing. Colorado: WAC Clearinghouse/Parlor Press, pp. 459–491.
Lea, Mary R. (2008). Academic literacies in theory and practice. In: Hornberger, Nancy H. ed. Encyclopedia of Language and Education (2nd ed.). New York: Springer, pp. 227–238.
Ivanic, R. and Lea, M. R. (2006). New contexts, new challenges: The teaching of writing in UK higher education. In: Ganobcsik-Williams, Lisa ed. Teaching Academic Writing in UK Higher Education: Theories, Practices and Models. Universities into the 21st Century. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Lea, Mary (2005). 'Communities of practice' in Higher Education: useful heuristic or educational model? In: Barton, David and Tusting, Karin eds. Beyond communities of practice: language power and social context. Learning in doing: Social, cognitive and computational perspectives. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 180–197.
Lea, Mary (2004). New literacy studies, ICTs and learning in higher education. In: Snyder, Ilana and Beavis, Catherine eds. Doing literacy online: teaching, learning and playing in an electronic world. New Jersey: Hampton Press.
Goodfellow, Robin; Morgan, Michael; Lea, Mary and Pettit, John (2004). Students' writing in the virtual university: An Investigation into the relation between online discussion and writing for assessment on two Masters courses. In: Snyder, Ilana and Beavis, Catherine eds. Doing literacy online: Teaching, learning and playing in an electronic world. Cresskill, USA: Hampton Press, pp. 25–44.
Goodfellow, Robin; Morgan, Michael; Lea, Mary and Pettit, John (2004). Students’ writing in the virtual university: an investigation into the relation between online discussion and writing for assessment. In: Snyder, Ilana and Beavis, Catherine eds. Doing Literacy on Line: Teaching, Learning and Playing in an Electronic World. New Dimensions in Computers and Composition. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, pp. 25–44.
Conference Item
Lea, Mary and Goodfellow, Robin (2009). Academic literacies in the digital university. In: Literacy in the Digital University: The Relation of New Media Practices to Traditional Literacy Practices in the Academy and the Professions, 16 Oct 2009, Edinburgh University.
Journal Article
Lea, Mary (2013). Reclaiming literacies: competing textual practices in a digital higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 18(1), pp. 106–118.
Lea, Mary R. and Stierer, Barry (2011). Changing academic identities in changing academic workplaces: learning from academics’ everyday professional writing practices. Teaching in Higher Education, 16(6), pp. 605–616.
Lea, Mary R. and Jones, Sylvia (2011). Digital literacies in higher education: exploring textual and technological practice. Studies in Higher Education, 36(4), pp. 377–393.
Lea, Mary R. and Stierer, Barry (2009). Lecturers' everyday writing as professional practice in the university as workplace: new insights into academic identities. Studies in Higher Education, 34(4), pp. 417–428.
Jones, Sylvia and Lea, Mary R. (2008). Digital literacies in the lives of undergraduate students: Exploring personal and curricular spheres of practice. Electronic Journal of E-Learning, 6(3), pp. 207–216.
Lea, Mary R. (2007). Emerging literacies in online learning. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(1), pp. 79–100.
Lea, Mary R. (2006). Writing in today's university. Educational Developments, 7(4), pp. 1–3.
Lea, Mary R. and Street, Brian V. (2006). The "academic literacies" model: Theory and applications. Theory into Practice, 45(4), pp. 368–377.
Goodfellow, Robin and Lea, Mary R. (2005). Supporting writing for assessment in online learning. Journal of Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(3), 261 -271.
Lea, Mary (2004). Academic literacies: a pedagogy for course design. Studies in Higher Education, 29(6), pp. 739–756.
Lea, Mary (2001). Computer conferencing and assessment: new ways of writing in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 26(2), pp. 163–181.
Goodfellow, R.; Lea, M. R.; Gonzalez, F. and Mason, R. (2001). Opportunity and e-quality - intercultural and linguistic issues in global online learning. Distance Education, 22(1), pp. 65–84.
Other
Lea, Mary (2010). Writing for Assessment in Practice-based Courses: The Experience of University Teachers. SEDA.

last updated 27-Jul-2012