An investigation into the hypertext composing processes of middle school students.

摘要

This dissertation is a case study of three middle school students who composed hypertext webs as part of their regular language arts classroom curriculum. The study looks at not only the processes the three students used as they composed the “study project,” but also at their development as hypertext authors from a beginning project in the fall of the school year, through a second project in the middle of the year, to the third project, the “study project,” in the spring. The purpose of the study was to determine whether hypertext impacted student composing processes, and specifically looked at textuality, agency, and involvement.; The case studies show that each student gained more and more control over his or her composing processes as he or she gained in hypertext composing experience. The study also shows that each student strove to maintain control of the multi-linear threads in hypertext in individual ways.; This study concludes that each student used a somewhat different recursive process to create his or her hypertext documents. It also concludes that as they composed, the student-authors became aware that they needed to control their processes, and each did so in unique ways. The study shows that the student-authors were highly involved in their hypertext composing processes, often spending hours outside the school day working on their webs, that they sensed a great deal of agency as they worked, and that they used sophisticated senses of textuality in their composing.