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ETD RECORD
At the crossroads :portrait of an underground composition teacher whose heuristics were transformed by computer-technology
Citation
Grover, Susan Hendricks.. (2010). At the crossroads :portrait of an underground composition teacher whose heuristics were transformed by computer-technology. Theses and Dissertations Collection, University of Idaho Library Digital Collections. https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/etd/items/etd_155.html
- Title:
- At the crossroads :portrait of an underground composition teacher whose heuristics were transformed by computer-technology
- Author:
- Grover, Susan Hendricks.
- Date:
- 2010
- Keywords:
- Computer-assisted instruction Heuristic
- Program:
- Education
- Abstract:
- Heuristics are deeply-held, tacit knowledge structures connected to our feelings. A heuristic study explores a phenomenon crucial to the researcher's self-discovery (Moustakas, 1990). Like me, many undergraduate composition instructors feel both fear and hope at the crossroads of composition and technology.;Technology and composition shape one another in a complex mutual relationship with many other factors (Lincoln and Guba, 1985). Metaphorically, the intersection of technology and composition compares to a roundabout with many streams of traffic merging and diverging rather than creating a simple traffic intersection. One crucial factor in the stream is the heuristic assumptions of the instructors in the trenches. In this study, I explore our feelings about how technology impacts (1) composition or what we teach, (2) instruction or how we teach, (3) our professional self-definition.;I triangulated data from a variety of sources. I began with my own self-dialog. Then I emailed a survey to faculty members in fourteen English departments. To create a purposeful sample for maximum variation, I chose six participants: three opponents and three proponents. I divided the participants into (1) digital pioneers, (2) digital immigrants, and (3) digital natives. I interviewed three participants directly and three digitally.;Finally, I created composite and individual portraits. The composite portrait of technology proponents showed a tendency to (1) differentiate instruction, (2) value new communication mediums, (3) focus on learner-centered education, (4) feel pedagogies of the past inadequate, (5) risk failure. The composite portrait of technology opponents showed a tendency to (1) focus on critical thinking, (2) view technology as a tool, (3) fear technology glitches, (4) resent pressure to use technology. For the individual portraits, I focused on digital immigrants, including my own. Colby (2006) suggests understanding digital immigrants contributes to understanding the phenomenon. By comparing portraits, I uncovered five transformed heuristic assumptions: (1) my linking composition and technology through andragogy, (2) fear that technology may negatively impact my career, (3) a link between technology-use and my professional self-definition, (4) value in finding my voice, (5) value in being a digital immigrant.;At this crossroads, we as composition teachers should critically reflect on our heuristic assumptions about composition and technology.
- Description:
- Thesis (Ph. D., Education)--University of Idaho, Winter 2010.
- Major Professor:
- Michael Kroth.
- Defense Date:
- Winter 2010.
- Type:
- Text
- Format Original:
- xiii, 292 leaves :col. ill. ;29 cm.
- Format:
- record
Rights
- Rights:
- In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted. For more information, please contact University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives Department at libspec@uidaho.edu.
- Standardized Rights:
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/