Teaching and learning first-year composition with digital portfolios

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Authors
Rice, Richard Aaron
Advisor
Newbold, William Webster, 1950-
Issue Date
2002
Keyword
Degree
Thesis (Ph.D.)
Department
Department of English
Other Identifiers
Abstract

The purpose of this study was to begin to define and describe some of the complex intersections between teaching and learning first-year composition with digital portfolios, focusing on the construction, presentation, and assessment processes in one first-year composition course at Ball State University. The study employed a qualitative ethnographic methodology with case study, and used grounded theory to develop a resultant guide to code the data collected through several methods: observation, interview, survey, and artifact assessment.The resultant coding guide included the core categories "reflective immediacy," "reflexive hypermediacy," and "active remediation." With the guide findings indicate several effective "common tool" digital portfolio strategies for both teachers and learners. For teachers: introduce the digital portfolio as early in the course as possible; make connections between digital portfolios and personal pedagogical strategies; highlight rhetorical hyperlinking and constructing navigational schemes; emphasize scalability; create a sustainable support system. For learners: consider the instructor's objectives within the framework of the portfolio; synthesize writing process with course content and portfolio construction; include each component of the writing process in the portfolio.