Date of Graduation
Fall 2016
Degree
Master of Arts in Writing
Department
English
Committee Chair
Margaret Weaver
Abstract
This study analyzed students' perceptions of community construction within the English 100 classroom and university at large as well as analyzed the instructor's role as a "tutor" and the impact this has on students' perceptions of community within the classroom. Composition theorist Kenneth Bruffee proposes that one solution for creating community for basic writers, those students least prepared for the college composition classroom, is peer tutoring. The traditional classroom has not worked for basic writers because it lacks a sense of community. The goal is to change the social context for learning and make it less hierarchical. Given the nature of English 100's institutional structure at Missouri State University, the role of the instructor is different; the course is graded pass/no pass based on a committee's evaluation of each student's end-of-semester portfolio. Because the ENG 100 instructor does not determine the grade, the institutional structure places the instructor into a different role in the class--a role that more closely resembles a tutor. Because the course better lends to a tutor model of education, this study found that this shift in the teacher's role does enhance students' perceptions of community within the classroom and the larger university but further research is necessary to analyze the larger impact of this shift in the role of the instructor.
Keywords
peerness, community, hierarchy, expectations, perceptions, tutor, basic writing, peer tutoring, social context
Subject Categories
Creative Writing
Copyright
© Jennifer Nicole Collins
Recommended Citation
Collins, Jennifer Nicole, "Community Construction In The Basic Writing Classroom" (2016). MSU Graduate Theses. 3027.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3027