Hypertext Projects, Active Learning, and Student Roles in the Classroom

Patricia Bizzell and Gerald Graff (among others) discuss facilitating the movement of students into academic discourse communities by promoting activities through which students can develop scholarly skills. I’ll examine ways of promoting more active roles for students who can use hypertext development projects to practice scholarly tasks like literary editing and interpretation. Our survey and interview studies show that students express a sense of engagement with literary texts and issues and a heightened confidence in their own academic abilities as a result of creating materials for the WORP project. After working on the WORP project, one student suggested "I have felt for the first time in my life that I actually have a voice within the literary community, as opposed to a highschool English class where I was told ‘Well, you are partially right, but let me tell you the real answer.’ This project has given me the confidence to take the initiative, make my own arguments, and for the first time truly know that I have just a right to make them as any other scholar." This presentation will explore issues of student roles and authority as they relate to hypertext teaching projects.


Presenter: Morri Safran

Categories:

Target Audience: Intermediate


Add your comment about this presentation

Return to the Schedule of Abstracts