Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Open Access Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Rhetoric, Theory and Culture (MS)
Administrative Home Department
Department of Humanities
Advisor 1
Holly Hassel
Committee Member 1
Jennifer Nish
Committee Member 2
Mark Rouleau
Committee Member 3
M. Bartley Seigel
Abstract
Soft skills in technical professions may be valued by employers, but post-secondary students engage with a dichotomy arguing against the blend of soft and hard skills. This study utilized activities with LEGO® bricks to determine how plausible kinesthetic learning methods are within university composition classes. Four in-class activities based on the class’s four core assignments were spread across the Spring 2024 semester at Michigan Technological university. Through written reflections, lists, posters, and photos of students’ builds, students practiced and demonstrated engagement with identified composition and critical thinking skills.
Two criteria (Audience Expectations and Genre Expectations, were not demonstrated as clearly in the four activities, compared to the overwhelming majority demonstrating Composition Process and Composition Reflection in their artifacts. Each activity demonstrated limitations with using just LEGO® bricks for in-class activities, but the amount of clear demonstrations and positive reception of the students ensured these types of activities are useful in university writing classrooms.
Recommended Citation
Nielsen, Tucker D., "FOUR LESSONS TO BUILD UPON: A STUDY OF POSTSECONDARY COMPOSITION CLASSROOM CURRICULUM", Open Access Master's Thesis, Michigan Technological University, 2024.
Included in
Language and Literacy Education Commons, Reading and Language Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons