Learning From the Connected Writer: Implications for Writing Studies

• In Event: Taking the Long View: Learning From Longitudinal Studies of Writing

Abstract

Purpose
Research examining connected learning (Ito et al., 2013) in action often focuses on design and implementation within learning environments, such as classrooms (e.g., Niemeyer & Gerber, 2015), fan communities (e.g., Martin, 2014), and afterschool programs (e.g., Davis & Fullerton, 2016). While this work offers important insights aimed, for example, at helping teachers design for connected learning opportunities in schools (see Garcia, 2014), less is known about how individual learners experience and seek out connectedness as they traverse multiple social contexts over time. This poster draws on a multi-sited longitudinal study of a single adolescent writer (Laura) to explore connected learning’s utility as a framework for understanding interest-driven writing pursuits.

Connected Learning
Sociocultural and situated approaches to learning that acknowledge the importance of social interaction (Vygotsky, 1962; 1978) and learning as a social process of engaging in activity (Lave & Wenger, 1991) informed Ito and her colleagues’ (2013) work in articulating connected learning. In brief, this model describes the opportunities available for learning in our information age by recognizing that technology connects young people to a variety of networked spaces where they can engage in meaningful, interest-driven, production-centered learning. Connected learning is thought to be equitable, social, and participatory learning (Ito, et al., 2013).

Methods
Kumpulainen and Sefton-Green (2014) argued for connected learning research employing methodologies to capture learners’ processes of making connections over time and across spaces; thus, I conducted a longitudinal, instrumental case study (Stake, 1995) with Laura for the four years of her high school career, and beyond. I employed connective ethnographic methods (Leander & McKim, 2003) to conduct interviews, artifact collection, and systematic observation of her online writing practices. I then used analytic induction (Erickson, 1986), involving multiple readings of the entire data corpus, to generate empirical assertions about Laura’s writing practices.
Data Sources
Data were gathered from 2012-2016, resulting in transcripts from six interviews with Laura and one with her family, and 14 email exchanges between me and Laura. Artifacts of Laura’s writing include 20 assignments from high school English classes (11 with teacher feedback), a draft of her unfinished novel, two play scripts, Laura’s “Director’s Reflections” in a play program, and two college admissions essays. Finally, artifacts of Laura’s online writing document her participation in Fanfiction.net from 2010-2013 and the theatre-related website she created in 2016.

Findings and Significance
Findings reveal the connected nature of Laura’s writing, as she pursued her interests in theatre and desire to become a published author. Tracing her writing over time made visible the recurring themes of femininity and Laura’s penchant for giving voice to lesser known characters through her work. The analysis also revealed tensions Laura experienced as she sought to make connections in her writing practices across social contexts. In presenting Laura’s case, this poster seeks to explore questions about what the field of writing studies gains (or not) by turning our attention to the connected writing practices of a single young person. Implications for connected learning theory and longitudinal studies of writing development will be discussed.

Author

• Jayne C. Lammers, University of Rochester