"I Can Do This": Understanding the Feedback Experiences of Linguistically Diverse Students in a Corequisite Writing Class

The changing cultural and linguistic landscape of higher education in the U.S. has long been a focus of postsecondary researchers, including influential scholarship focusing on the experiences of linguistically diverse students in higher education (Kanno & Harklau, 2012), immigrant-origin students in community colleges (Suárez-Orozco & Osei-Twumasi, 2019), and multilingual writers in college composition contexts (Matsuda, 2006). This dissertation research seeks to better understand the transition experiences of linguistically diverse students into corequisite first-year writing courses. In addition to exploring various corequisite models and the ways in which they provide academic and linguistic support, it is the goal of this study to specifically examine how linguistically diverse students observe and respond to instructor expectations. By examining the ways in which students interact with feedback on their academic work, it was also possible to observe how students used this feedback to position themselves relative to their identity as a college student. Using a multiple case study design, this study examined the experiences of five linguistically diverse students who were enrolled in corequisite first-year writing courses across the state of Texas. Students in this case study participated in a series of interviews and thinkaloud activities in which they reflected on feedback that they received on their written work. Findings from this study indicated the ways in which students’ funds of knowledge (VélezIbáñez & Greenberg, 1992; Moll et al., 1992; Gonzalez et al., 2005) emerged and affected how they interacted with academic tasks. Moreover, it provided insight into the ways in which students’ funds of knowledge are (or are not) recognized as symbolic capital in the classroom (Bourdieu, 1986; Kiyama & Rios-Aguilar, 2018). Students expressed agency in the ways that they accepted and resisted against instructor feedback, often doing so in alignment with claimed positions that were in turn influenced by a particular academic context. Implications for research and practice include a better understanding of the contexts in which a student’s funds of knowledge can be recognized as an asset in the college writing classroom.

Author dc:creator

• Dyer, James M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Suh, Emily
• Armstrong, Sonya L.
• Paulson, Eric J.
• Williams, Jeanine L.

• developmental education
• feedback literacy
• second language acquisition
• First year writing
• linguistically diverse students
• Post-secondary education

Language dc:language

en

Identifier

Dyer, J. M. (2024). "I can do this": Understanding the feedback experiences of linguistically diverse students in a corequisite writing class [Doctoral dissertation, Texas State University].

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:tdl-ir.tdl.org:10877/19983