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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Investigating Faculty Across The Disciplines Perceptions And Practices Of Reflective Writing In Community Engaged Courses: A Comparative Study, Marcela Hebbard
Investigating Faculty Across The Disciplines Perceptions And Practices Of Reflective Writing In Community Engaged Courses: A Comparative Study, Marcela Hebbard
Theses and Dissertations
Recently, research in composition studies and Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) has focused on understanding better how student reflective practices assist on their transfer of writing knowledge across contexts (Yancey et al., 2014; Taczak & Robertson, 2017, Lindenman et al., 2018). However, not much research has been done that investigates faculty beliefs and practices about reflective writing, how they use it to measure student outcomes and achievement in community engaged courses and the implications this might have for the transfer of knowledge and practice of writing. This study draws primarily on activity theory to better understand whether there is a …
Using The Rhetoric Of Video Games To Teach The Praxis Of Critical Analysis, Jeffrey B. Doyle
Using The Rhetoric Of Video Games To Teach The Praxis Of Critical Analysis, Jeffrey B. Doyle
Theses and Dissertations
Research has shown that video games can be successful at teaching concepts and skills to students at various grade levels. To explain how this might work, theoretical work is done to connect the concept of flow from psychology to procedural rhetoric. With the inclusion of Foucault’s theories of power, video games are shown to not be isolated experiences but connected to the power dynamics of society. In video games, these dynamics can be seen through the problematic portrayals of marginalized peoples as well as the hostile community that has developed online surrounding video games. To account for these issues, but …
Linguistics In Secondary Education: Teachers' Perceptions Of Linguistics In The Classroom, Ayla Aizza Galvan
Linguistics In Secondary Education: Teachers' Perceptions Of Linguistics In The Classroom, Ayla Aizza Galvan
Theses and Dissertations
Theoretical linguistics is an area of English study focusing on the abstract components of language: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. By 11th and 12th grade, students in the United States have been tested on linguistic concepts, as per state examination standards. English Language Arts teachers can introduce theoretical linguistic investigation and terms to their students, but this is not happening. The paper reviews why theoretical linguistic analysis is not thoroughly implemented in classrooms, successful classroom linguistic investigation in other countries and some U.S., and how linguistic investigation can be part of classroom curriculum. The research incorporates survey data from …
How Do We Teach All Students In Monolingual Classrooms? A Study Of Transfer And Translingualism, Norma Denae Dibrell
How Do We Teach All Students In Monolingual Classrooms? A Study Of Transfer And Translingualism, Norma Denae Dibrell
Theses and Dissertations
I take the work of Lorimer and Nowacek in “Transfer and Translingualism,” as a starting point to address these questions. In “Transfer and Translingualism” they argue that transfer and translingualism “both index movement among contexts, practices, or meaning” while “neither suggests a neutral carrying over of knowledge from one context or language to another” (260) and thus acknowledge prior knowledge and prior experience. Lorimer and Nowacek call for transfer researchers to look at language diversity “beyond recognition of difference to the matrices of power that regulate that difference” and to ask questions about how to measure transfer (261-262). Consequently, in …
Coding The Discourse And Translingual Strategies Of Collaborative Writing Of Secondary Education Students, Zane Lee Arredondo
Coding The Discourse And Translingual Strategies Of Collaborative Writing Of Secondary Education Students, Zane Lee Arredondo
Theses and Dissertations
Kenneth Bruffee used collaborative writing pedagogy to help reacculturate students’ discoursal identities to help them adhere to the expectations of the academic community. Although studies have shown that reacculturation may not exactly happen, Collaborative writing pedagogy still has maintained its presence within Composition studies since then and has been adapted into being implemented into digitally shared spaces. However, one aspect has been overlooked about physical shared spaces, the conversations themselves being studied. This study explores Kenneth Bruffee’s constructive conversations among secondary students within collaborative writing pedagogy. The collaborative sessions are recorded and viewed with a translingual lens applying Johnny Saldana’s …
Global-To-Local-To-Global: A Model For Tutoring Esl Students In The Writing Center, David Aguilar
Global-To-Local-To-Global: A Model For Tutoring Esl Students In The Writing Center, David Aguilar
Theses and Dissertations
Since its inception, the writing center has always focused on traditional students, and today that tradition is continued in such a way that the overwhelming amount of research dedicated to writing center theory and practice addresses the concerns of those students. However, universities with unique student populations, such as the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley with its majority of Hispanic students, require novel practices within their writing centers. Moreover, much of the linguistic, social, and cultural factors of the region are not well documented and therefore are not addressed by the mainstream theory and practices of other universities. With …
(Re)Constructing American Linguistic Identity: Disrupting The American Linguistic Standard In First Year Composition, Brittany N. Ramirez
(Re)Constructing American Linguistic Identity: Disrupting The American Linguistic Standard In First Year Composition, Brittany N. Ramirez
Theses and Dissertations
The thesis is a theoretical and analytical perspective on the construction of American Linguistic Identity through a Nationalist lens. By re-theorizing the concept of the nation as a “text”, and nationalism as the “composition” of that nation, this work challenges the dominant historical American linguistic narrative. This narrative is informed by an American Linguistic memory that is based on an Anglo-Saxon linguistic hegemony throughout American history. American linguistic memory has perpetuated a tacit English-Only policy in higher education, primarily through first year college composition courses. The tacit English-Only policy has influenced educators’ perceptions of students in the composition classroom as …
Adolescent Street Literacy: The Art Of The Hustle, Regina L. Welch
Adolescent Street Literacy: The Art Of The Hustle, Regina L. Welch
Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA
This thesis is an ethnographic analysis of street youths, runaways and foster children. It focuses on the rhetorical and literacy practices that serve as a foundation for an underground community. Very little research, within the English field or from a literacy perspective, has been done on this demographic. This study includes data from interviews conducted with eight individuals who were “homeless” between the ages of 12 and 18 years old. Homeless is being defined as any duration spent absent of a stable living situation, including, but not limited to, foster homes, sleeping on the streets or in temporary settings, with …
E Pluribus Unum: The Pursuit Of Linguistic Equality Through Adequation And Denaturalization, Natalie A. Tupta
E Pluribus Unum: The Pursuit Of Linguistic Equality Through Adequation And Denaturalization, Natalie A. Tupta
Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA
The oppressive ideology of standard language in the US perpetuates linguistic discrimination in all facets of life, from the classroom to the housing market to politics. Many Americans justify the degradation of non-standard language users by identifying the imagined cognitive deficiencies of those who do not use standard language. In response to previous research providing evidence of linguistic injustices, this research confounds existent ideology and exposes the gravity of the injustices perpetuated by the US government and educational system. By comparing this linguistic social justice movement to the American Civil Rights Movement and by borrowing the philosophy of Martin Luther …
The Soul Of Man Under Capitalism, Joe L. Cantu
The Soul Of Man Under Capitalism, Joe L. Cantu
Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA
This paper examines the consciousness of three literary characters, divided by space and time, from mid nineteenth century Russia, mid twentieth century Italy, to late twentieth century American society. This paper exposes literature’s rendition of modern man’s varying consciousness as shaped by the changing social conditions around him. This paper recognizes these varying social conditions as different stages in capitalism’s development. Capitalism has a history; the literature this paper examines discloses its negative impact on the consciousness of its characters. In analyzing Notes from the Underground, Contempt, and American Psycho, three novels separated by geography and spanning a timeframe of …
An Analysis Of Narrative Types And An Investigation Into The Privileging Of Narrative Types On Standardized Testing, Rachel Villarreal Garza
An Analysis Of Narrative Types And An Investigation Into The Privileging Of Narrative Types On Standardized Testing, Rachel Villarreal Garza
Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA
Research on the narrative writing of males and females shows significant differences between the two, and scores for standardized writing tests consistently demonstrate females outperforming males. Based on this information, it is important to investigate whether there are links between narrative content and this gender gap. In this study, I selected fifty officially scored essays written in response to an eleventh grade English Language Arts Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills exam. Essays were coded for broad and specific narrative types according to categories adapted from research on the writing of males and females. I then determined whether certain narrative …
Maintaining An Immigrant Heritage Language Other Than Spanish Or English In The Bilingual Culture Of The Rio Grande Valley Of South Texas, Sonia A. Shepherd
Maintaining An Immigrant Heritage Language Other Than Spanish Or English In The Bilingual Culture Of The Rio Grande Valley Of South Texas, Sonia A. Shepherd
Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA
A 2005 study in the bilingual Spanish/English Rio Grande Valley of South Texas investigates the language strategies used by immigrant families from China, Greece, Hungary, Japan, the Philippines, Russia, Taiwan, and the Ukraine to preserve their heritage languages and pass them on to their children. Personal interviews determine that all the parents are well-educated and from an above average socio-economic level. This investigation categorizes the various strategies used by the parents. All the immigrant parents emphasize that the main reason they want to preserve the heritage language with their children is to insure that the children can continue to communicate …
The Importance Of Continuity In First Language Education For Learning A Second Language, Stephen M. Shepherd
The Importance Of Continuity In First Language Education For Learning A Second Language, Stephen M. Shepherd
Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA
Scores from the Texas Reading Proficiency Tests in English (RPTE) for ninety-four Newcomer ESL students were analyzed to understand the differences between students who had attended school continuously and those who had discontinuity in their first language (LI) education in their home country. This research was performed in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, a few miles from the border with Mexico. The hypothesis is that students who have gaps in their L1 education will not learn to read as quickly in English as those who had none since the former are lacking cognitive skills which the latter already …
Attitudes Of Mexican Nationals Toward The Use Of Code Switching In The Rio Grande Valley, Jennifer M. Vojtko
Attitudes Of Mexican Nationals Toward The Use Of Code Switching In The Rio Grande Valley, Jennifer M. Vojtko
Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA
The purpose of this study is to establish the beliefs and attitudes of Mexican Nationals living in the Rio Grande Valley toward the use of code switching, or the use of two or more languages during a speech act. Because of the high influence of the Spanish language in the Rio Grande Valley, code switching is more commonly referred to as Spanglish. Researchers have been studying code switching since the early fifties; however, limited research has been conducted on attitudes toward code switching. The goal of this study is to offer a comprehensive look at the attitudes demonstrated by Mexican …
Poems As Mnemonic Devices To Aid Grammar Recall, Carolin A. Metzger
Poems As Mnemonic Devices To Aid Grammar Recall, Carolin A. Metzger
Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA
This study was implemented to explore the extent to which students' performance on grammar editing exams might be affected by exposure to poems used as mnemonic devices intended to aid recall of grammar rules. The poems were used as mnemonic tools to assist subjects memory of specific grammar points. The place of grammar in writing instruction, the use of mnemonics, and the use of rhyme and rhythm are reviewed. The subjects for this study came from developmental level classes at the university level and from advanced level English as Second Language classes. The results emphasize the need for teacher-student interaction …
A Content Validity Analysis Of The University Of Texas-Pan American English 1320 Grammar And Usage Exam, Cynthia Eilene Elder
A Content Validity Analysis Of The University Of Texas-Pan American English 1320 Grammar And Usage Exam, Cynthia Eilene Elder
Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA
This study examines the degree of content validity of the grammar and usage exam administered to The University of Texas-Pan American's developmental writing classes (English 1320). Final exam essays from the freshman composition course (English 1301) were divided into groups according to their scores and examined for the occurrence of adjective agreement, apostrophe, pronoun usage, punctuation of clause, sentence structure, subject-verb agreement, and tense usage errors, which are tested on the exam. An Analysis of Variance was then calculated for each error type; none of the error types proved statistically significant at the.05 level. The students within each group did …