30th Annual Student Research Conference
Discovering the Self: Increasing Students’ Confidence Through a Memoir Genre Study
Jessica M. Wilke♦
Dr. Rebecca Dierking, Faculty Mentor
Student success in the English classroom is often determined by their abilities to read and write effectively. Educators know that student ability is as much affected by self-confidence as it is by any other external factor (i.e. effective instruction, classroom environment, access to resources, etc.) yet little attention is afforded to practices which allow students to develop a positive self-view in a meaningful way. This case study relays changes noted in students’ self-confidence and confidence in reading/writing abilities as the result of a memoir genre study. Implemented in an honors English I class in a large urban high-school, this study examines the correlation between providing explicit instruction on techniques writers employ in their memoirs and student success in identifying and practicing those skills in their own reading and writing. Data was analyzed through a constructivist lens, specifically employing interpretative techniques to understand where increases in confidence occurred.
Keywords: memoir, genre study, confidence, explicit instruction
Topic(s):English MAE Intern
English, Secondary MAE Research
Education
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 202-5
Location: MG 1090
Time: 10:30