Jessica Mitchell Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education, Health and

Human Sciences

Announces the Final Examination of

Jessica Simmons Mitchell

for the degree of

Doctor of Education

March 31, 2014 at 1:30 pm

405 Ball Hall, University of Memphis

Memphis, TN

Biographical Sketch

Bachelor of Arts, English, Freed-Hardeman University

Master of Science, Instruction and Curriculum, Freed-Hardeman University

Advisor Committee

Rebecca Anderson, Ph.D., Professor, Instruction and Curriculum Leadership, Committee Chair

E. Sutton Flynt, Ed.D., Professor, Instruction and Curriculum Leadership

Laurie MacGillivray, Ed.D., Instruction and Curriculum Leadership

Helen Perkins, Ed.D., Associate Professor, Instruction and Curriculum Leadership

Major Field of Study

Reading

Period of Preparation:  2009 – 2014

Comprehensive Examination Passed: October 2012

Writing in the Digital Age: A Case Study of Fifth-Grade Boys

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the digital-related writing practices of one classroom of fifth-grade boys in a private school who had embraced a 1:1 laptop model in every classroom for over 12 years. As a response to critical discussions concerning the role of writing and technology in education, especially as states across the country had been preparing for computerized writing assessments through measures such as the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), the study asked what influences the digital writing practices and products of students with experience in digital writing technologies. Additionally, as girls have outperformed boys on traditionally literacy achievement measures, the study asked what influences in the digital writing environment impacted the boys’ development of their identity as writers. The study found a multiplicity of influences on students’ digital writing practices, products, and confidence in participating in the classroom; more specifically, the researcher concluded that peer interactions were a particularly salient finding across the data, impacting student participation in digital writing tasks, shaping the development of their writing products in a variety of stages, and influencing their identity as writers. Thus, given the social nature of digital learning, discussions were provided with a proposed model for social interaction in digital writing environments. Future recommendations for research were suggested to extend the limited scope of the research to a variety of contexts. In particular, future research was suggested to explore a variety of student-centered and teacher-centered approaches for understanding the role of social support in digital writing environments such as the influence of peer feedback for improving digital writing products in various educational contexts and the impact of teacher training for facilitating quality peer responses for improving digital writing.

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