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TRANSFER WITHIN FYC: TRACING THE OPERALIZATION OF WRITING-RELATED KNOWLEDGE AND CONCEPTS IN COMPOSITION
Title
TRANSFER WITHIN FYC: TRACING THE OPERALIZATION OF WRITING-RELATED KNOWLEDGE AND CONCEPTS IN COMPOSITION.
Creator
Martinez, Laura, Wardle, Elizabeth, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This study traces the transfer of writing-related knowledge and concepts from the composition classroom into the writing assignments composed by students within the same course. Working in a first-year-composition classroom taught through a writing-about-writing curriculum, the researcher observed students as they navigated from the initial learning of concepts such as rhetorical situations, writing processes, and discourse communities, into an application of these concepts in various writing...
Show moreThis study traces the transfer of writing-related knowledge and concepts from the composition classroom into the writing assignments composed by students within the same course. Working in a first-year-composition classroom taught through a writing-about-writing curriculum, the researcher observed students as they navigated from the initial learning of concepts such as rhetorical situations, writing processes, and discourse communities, into an application of these concepts in various writing assignments, including rhetorical analyses and discourse community profiles. By analyzing a composition instructor's objectives for her assignments and observing the interaction between students and their instructor in a single composition course for the duration of one semester, the researcher traced how students operationalized knowledge from the classroom and applied it in their own writing. After tracing this operalization through interviews with the instructor, observation of class activities and analysis of assignment sheets and student papers, the researcher proposes that instructors may encourage transfer within their composition classrooms by adequately presenting assignment objectives to students, and by allowing sufficient scaffolding of writing tasks. In this way, the researcher explains that students may be able to understand the objectives of their writing assignments in a way that may encourage them to apply the knowledge they learned in the classroom to the writing tasks assigned by their instructor.
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Date Issued
2011
Identifier
CFE0003696, ucf:48829
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003696
Exploring Repurposing Across Contexts: How Adolescents' New Literacies Practices Can Inform Understandings about Writing-Related Transfer
Title
Exploring Repurposing Across Contexts: How Adolescents' New Literacies Practices Can Inform Understandings about Writing-Related Transfer.
Creator
Mitchell, Cynthia, Wardle, Elizabeth, Rounsaville, Angela, Vie, Stephanie, Scanlon, Elizabeth, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This project examines how middle school students engage in new literacies practices and how they repurpose across contexts. With the use of screencast software and interviews, this project analyzes six case study participants' new literacies practices and the way they use and change ideas and strategies across physical and digital contexts.Drawing from transfer methodology, this project looks at how broadening conceptions of transfer and contexts to include repurposing increases the...
Show moreThis project examines how middle school students engage in new literacies practices and how they repurpose across contexts. With the use of screencast software and interviews, this project analyzes six case study participants' new literacies practices and the way they use and change ideas and strategies across physical and digital contexts.Drawing from transfer methodology, this project looks at how broadening conceptions of transfer and contexts to include repurposing increases the possibilities for finding transfer in literacies practices. Applying new literacies theory, this project explores how literacies practices that are chronologically and ontologically new (Lankshear (&) Knobel, 2006) are often repurposed across contexts. In addition, employing rhetorical invention and arrangement theories, this project examines how contemporary invention is repurposing and how arrangement aids in meaning making in new literacies practices. It also explores concerns over increased repurposing across collapsed contexts for literacies.
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Date Issued
2016
Identifier
CFE0006145, ucf:51160
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006145
Crossing Literate Worlds: Exploring How Students With Rich Identities as Writers Negotiate Multiple Writing Contexts
Title
Crossing Literate Worlds: Exploring How Students With Rich Identities as Writers Negotiate Multiple Writing Contexts.
Creator
Shrum, Autumn, Wardle, Elizabeth, Wallace, David, Scott, John, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This study investigated the literate identities of college students who engage in various school and non-school writing practices simultaneously. In case studies of three student writers, the researcher seeks to explore how the discourse community roles, self-perceptions, negotiation of multiple writing processes and development of authority impacted the students' identities as writers. Triangulated research methods included weekly interviews with the student participants, observation of the...
Show moreThis study investigated the literate identities of college students who engage in various school and non-school writing practices simultaneously. In case studies of three student writers, the researcher seeks to explore how the discourse community roles, self-perceptions, negotiation of multiple writing processes and development of authority impacted the students' identities as writers. Triangulated research methods included weekly interviews with the student participants, observation of the students in their writing classrooms and analysis of the students' school and non-school texts over one semester. Students experienced several conflicts and synergies between contexts. Main findings indicated that writing across many academic and extra-academic settings during a short time period may alter self-perceptions, encourage or discourage the repurposing of writing processes, and limit the development of authority. Implications for teachers and researchers of college-level writing center on awareness of the literate lives of students beyond classroom walls. Future research questions are raised regarding the transfer of writing-related knowledge as it may occur in students with strong literate identities.
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Date Issued
2011
Identifier
CFE0004167, ucf:49061
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004167
Engaging and Enacting Writing in First-Year Composition: Re-Imagining Student Self-Efficacy in Writing
Title
Engaging and Enacting Writing in First-Year Composition: Re-Imagining Student Self-Efficacy in Writing.
Creator
Tripp, Mary, Wardle, Elizabeth, Pigg, Stacey, Scott, John, Slomp, David, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
According to educational theory, learning to write necessitates self-belief that one is capable of performing required tasks. This belief is called self-efficacy, a component of human agency. Students who enter First-Year Composition (FYC), are often unaware of the writing challenges that lie ahead, and many educational psychologists posit that self-efficacy beliefs are the most important factor in meeting these writing challenges. While socio-cognitive theory shapes views of self-efficacy in...
Show moreAccording to educational theory, learning to write necessitates self-belief that one is capable of performing required tasks. This belief is called self-efficacy, a component of human agency. Students who enter First-Year Composition (FYC), are often unaware of the writing challenges that lie ahead, and many educational psychologists posit that self-efficacy beliefs are the most important factor in meeting these writing challenges. While socio-cognitive theory shapes views of self-efficacy in education literature, to date, measures of self-efficacy in writing have focused only on the individual cognitive beliefs as they influence writing performance outcomes. However, current research in writing studies as well as posthuman theories of agency point to a broader, more contextually-bound view of agency for writing as emergent and enacted in socially constructed systems.This dissertation challenges the current view of self-efficacy as it is described in the educational literature as well as the ways in which self-efficacy in writing is measured, suggesting instead that self-efficacy beliefs and learning to write are deeply contextualized. In this dissertation, I examine student self-efficacy in writing using the lens of activity theory, not only as a set of stated individual beliefs but also as belief-in-action measured as images on writing maps, subtle shifts in language and talk about writing, as well as changes in writing practices. More importantly, I examine the agency that is constructed in the social system of FYC classrooms which may only later become internalized individual beliefs about abilities to write. My study suggests that self-efficacy beliefs are not bound by inside the head as belief about performing certain rules for writing, but instead self-efficacy beliefs about writing are emergent and enacted and bound to particular writing systems. Lingering feelings of agency forworking in particular systems can move with students to similar systems; however, strong beliefs about writing as fixed and rule-bound can actually hinder how much students learn in FYC. The evidence suggests that self-efficacy in writing may be better theorized as writing efficacy, emergent agency for writing that strengthens as participants become engaged in working toward the motives of a writing system.
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Date Issued
2012
Identifier
CFE0004447, ucf:49336
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004447
Writing for Change and Changing Writing: Service Learning, First-Year Composition and Writing about Writing
Title
Writing for Change and Changing Writing: Service Learning, First-Year Composition and Writing about Writing.
Creator
Bormann, Vanessa, Scott, John, Wardle, Elizabeth, Young, Beth, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Through a piloted model of curriculum designed for ENC 1101 this teacher-research study investigated how service-learning can shape the experiences of both teachers and students in the first-year composition classroom. The research aimed to determine the ways in which enhancement occurred for students and teachers through evaluation of student coursework, a post-semester student focus group and a faculty interview. Focusing on the impacts of this curriculum on a part-time teacher, this study...
Show moreThrough a piloted model of curriculum designed for ENC 1101 this teacher-research study investigated how service-learning can shape the experiences of both teachers and students in the first-year composition classroom. The research aimed to determine the ways in which enhancement occurred for students and teachers through evaluation of student coursework, a post-semester student focus group and a faculty interview. Focusing on the impacts of this curriculum on a part-time teacher, this study also aimed to bring to light some of the challenges inherent in service-learning within FYC, while offering ways to mediate those challenges in both course design and departmental implementation. As a result of this project, recommendations were made for modification of this curriculum to be used as an option for instructors alongside appropriate professional development, which is essential to the success of service-learning in FYC. Continued research dealing with various approaches to using service-learning in FYC was also recommended.
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Date Issued
2012
Identifier
CFE0004292, ucf:49479
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004292
Can Best Practices in Writing Instruction and Standardized Testing Coexist?
Title
Can Best Practices in Writing Instruction and Standardized Testing Coexist?.
Creator
Cannavino, Karen, Bell, Kathleen, Wardle, Elizabeth, Roozen, Kevin, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
At the high school level, teachers are tasked with a twofold agenda: they must prepare their students for college level and other post-secondary writing, and they must also make sure they perform well on the standardized writing tests that are required by the state. The stakes in standardized testing continue to rise, especially in Florida. Since the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 (NCLB) and the implementation of the Race to the Top Assessment Program (RTTT) in 2009, teachers...
Show moreAt the high school level, teachers are tasked with a twofold agenda: they must prepare their students for college level and other post-secondary writing, and they must also make sure they perform well on the standardized writing tests that are required by the state. The stakes in standardized testing continue to rise, especially in Florida. Since the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 (NCLB) and the implementation of the Race to the Top Assessment Program (RTTT) in 2009, teachers across the nation have experienced intense pressures related to standardized testing. Many schools' efforts to conform to testing requirements have had the unintended consequence of narrowing their focus to the content of the test. As teachers and administrators experience the pressure to meet the requirements, it has become impossible to implement any pedagogy without test results in mind. The challenge facing high school writing teachers is formidable: how can they best choose their new approach to pedagogy, given the pressures of standardized testing, the new curriculum requirements, and the need to ensure that they equip students with the skills they will need to write in college? This thesis explores the question by analyzing the key factors that impact writing instruction in Florida high school classrooms: testing requirements, curriculum requirements, and the content of writing textbooks being used. Do these factors encourage teachers to follow the best practices in writing instruction recommended by field-based research? What knowledge can we gain from comparing these factors, which may be helpful to today's writing instructors in light of the challenges they face? Through this research and analysis, I hope to provide insight that can inform high school writing teachers on the heart of the issue: is it possible for best practices in writing instruction and standardized testing to coexist in their classrooms?
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Date Issued
2016
Identifier
CFE0006084, ucf:50956
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006084
Expansive Learning in FYC: Using Linguistic Discourse Analysis to Measure the Effects of Threshold Concepts in Facilitating Generalization
Title
Expansive Learning in FYC: Using Linguistic Discourse Analysis to Measure the Effects of Threshold Concepts in Facilitating Generalization.
Creator
Morrow, Allison, Wardle, Elizabeth, Roozen, Kevin, Hall, Mark, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This study examines how and if threshold concepts enable expansive learning and generalization. Expansive learning and generalization are part of the highly contested conceptions of transfer, and these specific conceptions offer a more complex conception of transfer that deals with knowledge transformation (Tuomi-Gr?hn and Engestr?m, Beach). One way that we can see expansive learning and generalization transform knowledge is through the teaching of threshold concepts. In the last decade,...
Show moreThis study examines how and if threshold concepts enable expansive learning and generalization. Expansive learning and generalization are part of the highly contested conceptions of transfer, and these specific conceptions offer a more complex conception of transfer that deals with knowledge transformation (Tuomi-Gr?hn and Engestr?m, Beach). One way that we can see expansive learning and generalization transform knowledge is through the teaching of threshold concepts. In the last decade, there has been a movement toward using threshold concepts in FYC's that take up writing studies as their curricula (Wardle and Downs, Dew). Even though using threshold concepts seems to be one interesting way of specifically studying expansive learning and generalization, we have no studies examining whether or not teaching threshold concepts encourages expansive learning. The studies we do have do not seem to offer any methodologies that would enable us to study threshold concepts and generalization. Past methods, such as case studies, interviews, and surveys have included small sample sizes to collect their data from (Wardle, Dively and Nelms, Nowacek). A lot of the transfer data does not actually focus on the writing or the texts themselves or the reoccurring moves that students use in those texts. Linguistic discourse analysis offers a promising avenue for examining the generalization of threshold concepts. Using research methods like linguistic discourse analysis in marriage with the best qualitative methods of transfer, like case studies or interviews, could allow for a larger sample size of data collection and allows for us to see how students use these threshold concepts in their writing. Through linguistic discourse analysis and interviews, this study suggests that students' perceptions of writing change after being introduced to some threshold concepts from the Writing About Writing curriculum. The threshold concepts that students are presented to in the Writing About Writing curriculum at UCF tackles misconceptions and helps students change how they view writing. Once they can change this view, they are able to generalize the knowledge they have into their own writing. If students do not use the exact terminology from the curriculum, they are able to generalize those threshold concepts through using their own language or even through analogies. ?
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Date Issued
2015
Identifier
CFE0005849, ucf:50937
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005849
Composing the Classroom, Constructing Hybridity: Writing Technology in(to) First-Year Composition Course Design
Title
Composing the Classroom, Constructing Hybridity: Writing Technology in(to) First-Year Composition Course Design.
Creator
Friend, Christopher, Vie, Stephanie, Wardle, Elizabeth, Scott, Blake, Stommel, Jesse, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Online education has received excessive attention in recent decades as its characteristics and potential have undergone intense debate and scrutiny. Similar debate and scrutiny surround the content of first-year composition (FYC) courses. As we continue to define what composition studies entails, we redefine what we study in FYC. Yet discussions of blended delivery mode---using both online and on-ground teaching methods---get lost amid these debates. This dissertation addresses the dearth of...
Show moreOnline education has received excessive attention in recent decades as its characteristics and potential have undergone intense debate and scrutiny. Similar debate and scrutiny surround the content of first-year composition (FYC) courses. As we continue to define what composition studies entails, we redefine what we study in FYC. Yet discussions of blended delivery mode---using both online and on-ground teaching methods---get lost amid these debates. This dissertation addresses the dearth of research on blended online writing instruction by asserting the essential nature of connections between the content and the delivery of FYC courses.Through case studies of two experienced instructors teaching FYC in a blended environment for the first time, this dissertation evaluates the composition(-)both as a noun and as a verb(-)of FYC courses in light of the technology involved. Through an analysis of interviews with instructors, students, and faculty involved with FYC, I highlight the points of contact(-)the interfaces(-)that themselves create the experience of a class. This analysis applies interface theory from rhetoric and composition to the pedagogical acts of teaching FYC and reveals how attention to classroom interfaces can benefit our pedagogy.This project also incorporates student performance data (in the form of portfolio evaluations), student perception data (in the form of surveys), and comparative institutional data (in the form of website analysis) to better understand the varied causes, effects, and implementations of blended learning. By looking outside the classroom environment, I show how schools influence the way blended courses are perceived by those who create them. The differences in student and instructor expectations for this kind of class emerged as particularly influential in determining how successful a blended course can be.The perspective taken by an instructor in terms of experience and expertise also emerged as a significant determinant of perceived success, particularly for instructors themselves. This dissertation reveals the delicate balance instructors must navigate between relying on expertise in the field and exploring the course delivery as a novice. This balance allows instructors to be responsive, flexible, and dynamic in their classes while also assisting students in their efforts to better understand FYC course content.Overall, this dissertation defines and advocates for a hybrid approach to FYC instruction as an essential evolution of our pedagogical praxis. Students lead increasingly hybrid lives and learn in increasingly hybrid ways. Instructors must adopt hybridity in their classes to accommodate not only students' changing learning styles but also the changing nature of composition as a field and writing as its subject matter. And finally, institutions must consistently define and implement principles of hybridity to help reduce confusion and frustration across the disciplines. Suggestions for educators and institutions alike are provided to help meet the needs of today's students.
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Date Issued
2014
Identifier
CFE0005332, ucf:50541
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005332
Seeing a Whole Life: Genre and Identity in Occupational Therapy
Title
Seeing a Whole Life: Genre and Identity in Occupational Therapy.
Creator
Johnson, Stefanie, Wardle, Elizabeth, Hall, Mark, Roozen, Kevin, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
A significant body of writing and rhetoric research focuses on the literate practices that reflect or construct the professional self, particularly in disciplines that rely heavily on the use of forms to categorize or identify customers, clients, or patients. Many of these studies examine the influence of discipline-specific genres on the creation of a professional self for healthcare practitioners. Occupational therapy, a nearly 100-year-old yet little understood profession, is significantly...
Show moreA significant body of writing and rhetoric research focuses on the literate practices that reflect or construct the professional self, particularly in disciplines that rely heavily on the use of forms to categorize or identify customers, clients, or patients. Many of these studies examine the influence of discipline-specific genres on the creation of a professional self for healthcare practitioners. Occupational therapy, a nearly 100-year-old yet little understood profession, is significantly different from many other healthcare disciplines, in part, because the genres used by occupational therapists reflect the profession's careful attention to the whole life of a patient. These genres are built around an understanding of a patient's occupation as the object of the profession's activity system. (")Occupation(") (commonly defined too narrowly by those outside of the profession as (")work(")), is, quite simply, anything that meaningfully and purposefully occupies a person's time. This broadly defined object invites an expansive professional vision that includes the patient's life and history outside of a diagnosis. This study presents the narratives of four occupational therapists and the literate activities that inform their practice. Their voices, as excerpted in this case study, join a strong, ongoing conversation in writing and rhetoric studies about the relationship between genre and identity. Using the lens of activity theory, this is one account of a healthcare profession that pays unusual attention to patients' whole lives through genres that mediate shared agency between the caregiver and patient. It is also, however, the story of the ways in which this identity, as a uniquely occupation-based discipline, becomes obscured as therapists translate their work to genres created and controlled by other, more powerful activity systems.
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Date Issued
2015
Identifier
CFE0005813, ucf:50036
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005813