Fostering a discourse of process: A qualitative study of student perspectives on a developmental college writing course.

摘要

This qualitative research study drew from phenomenological, case study, and teacher-research traditions to examine the perceptions and experiences of eight students who completed a developmental writing course. The course was designed as a research based intervention aimed at helping students learn skills, habits, and tools that could assist them with navigating college writing. The study also examined what skills and habits participants believed they needed to succeed in writing for college and how this changed throughout the course of the study. Additionally, it investigated in what ways students connected their development of these skills and habits to class activities. Finally, it examined how participants described using their knowledge about writing for classes across the curriculum.;The study was conducted at a four-year college in New York City. Data was triangulated through the use of two interviews conducted with participants after they had completed the course, assignments they wrote while enrolled in the course, and the researcher's notes. Data was analyzed in relationship to Gee's (2008) theory of Discourse and Lea and Street's (1998/2006) academic literacies model. Using these theories, the study sought to consider the connections and tensions the participants experienced between what they learned in the developmental course and what they needed when they wrote for credit-bearing college classes.;The findings suggested that participants tended to develop more of a process-oriented disposition and approach to writing as they completed the course and wrote for classes across disciplinary contexts. They drew upon a variety of the skills and strategies learned in the developmental class. There was also evidence of challenges that arose when participants encountered a variety of writing conventions and research expectations across the curriculum. Implications for future research and instructional practices are addressed.