The dialectic of the surround and the assignment: The role of identity, philosophy, and power in first year writing assignments.

摘要

This thesis examines the role of UNC Charlotte's First Year Writing curriculum on student-teacher communication, and explores the tensions of the newly implemented social constructivist curriculum upon students and teachers who are accustomed to a formalist system. The project begins with a case-study examination of interpretation of writing assignments, how those interpretations often differ between the students and the teachers, and the effects of different interpretations on the ways the students write and revise. The context that surrounds these moments of interpretation is then explored, as the communication study becomes the basis for complicating the implementation of genre-based assignments and the use of a process-based assessment system. This project brings into focus the role of teacher and student identity, and the tensions of a curriculum with pedagogical goals that are in conflict with the standardized education system.