Identifier

etd-04112016-143126

Degree

Master of Education (MEd)

Department

Education

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

This teacher-research project was implemented into a sophomore English Language Arts classroom in order to examine free writing as a writing strategy to encourage students’ interactions and cultivate community. The researcher wanted to discover if free writing was a strategy English teachers can implement to encourage collaboration and community amongst his or her students. This study was conducted approximately for one semester in an English II honors class in southern region of the United States. This project used a mixed-methods approach to determine if free writing is a strategy to encourage students’ interactions and cultivate community. To determine the effectiveness of this strategy, the researcher introduced a unit that incorporated a culminating task, which was a group project consisting of a 5-page paper, presentation, and debate. During the unit, the researcher collected beginning, middle, and end-of -unit surveys, interviewed selected students, collected student reflections, recorded observation notes, analyzed final papers, tracked students’ written journal writings, and collected a peer evaluation from all participants. The findings included free writing is effective in helping students express themselves, in my study free writing, in the time permitted, did not effectively translate into cultivating community or enhancing students’ academic writing styles.

Date

2016

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Bach, Jacqueline

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.725

Included in

Education Commons

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