While online courses may be more convenient and fulfilling for adult learners, they pose an additional challenge because much of the communication between student and instructor is in writing. This is in addition to more formal, traditional written assignments like research papers. The challenge multiplies with graduate students, who may be years or even decades distant from their undergraduate writing courses, while the expectations for their writing are higher. Many graduate programs culminate with a final project, thesis, or dissertation, which often involves extensive research and writing. Many similarities exist between the literature on teaching writing and teaching adult learners; however, teaching writing within the contest of an online graduate course is an area of research that still needs to be expanded.
Ethnic Complementarities after the Opening of China: How Chinese Graduate Students Affected the Productivity of Their Advisors