This research proposal was inspired by a grant project I undertook in fall 2005. The goal of that project was to determine whether student participation in composition-based discussion board activities improves student skill acquisition in the area of basic essay writing. This research proposal builds on that study and poses an affective hypothesis that participation in discussion boards will increase students’ level of self-reflection, motivation and satisfaction in their developmental writing course. The fundamental premise that underlies the hypothesis is that students who reflect on their writing process and share their work with others exert more control over their writing, are more motivated, and achieve greater satisfaction in their writing.
The project will be undertaken in two sections of English 91 and will take place over the course of the entire fall 2006 semester. Both classes will be web-enhanced so that each section will have access to a Blackboard course web site. For each week of the study, students will supplement their classroom course work with online activities that encourage and facilitate self-reflection and student interaction. Students will participate twice a week in supplemental discussion boards that focus on either sharing their writing and responding to others’ writing or reflecting on their own work and sharing their reflections with others.

The goal of the project is to determine whether participation in discussion boards will increase ownership in the class, increase student interaction, and increase student confidence and motivation. Students in developmental courses must acquire the ability to reflect on their writing process and determine what aspects of their work need revision. This, in turn, provides them with greater confidence and motivation.

 The electronic record of student participation at the Blackboard site will serve as one component of the assessment. I can view how often students participate as well as evaluate student insights about their process and their engagement with others. The other assessment will take the form of an end of the semester survey administered to all students. Potential survey questions include the following:
•    To what degree did your discussion board participation provide you with a sense of support and belonging in the class?
•    To what degree did participation in the discussion boards motivate you to complete your assignments?
•    To what degree did you look forward to seeing the comments that others posted about your work?
•    To what degree are you more aware of your personal writing process as a result of the discussion board assignments?
•    To what degree do you feel that being aware of your writing process will help you succeed in future college writing?
•    How would you rate your level of satisfaction with your discussion board experience?

In order to implement this proposal, I will apply technology skills that I learned in Edu 090,Teaching an Online Course, to post the discussion boards and to post the end of the semester survey. I will also apply a principle that I learned in Edu 092, Microteaching, that good teaching encourages active student learning.

From this project I hope to build a more engaged learning community for students. I hope to provide students a greater opportunity to reflect on their work and other the work of others. I hope to increase student satisfaction and motivation in the class.