Date of Award
5-17-2019
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Middle and Secondary Education
First Advisor
Michelle Zoss
Second Advisor
Troy Hicks
Third Advisor
Jodi Kaufmann
Fourth Advisor
Nadia Behizadeh
Fifth Advisor
Donna Alvermann
Abstract
Remix, a type of digital multimedia composition created by combining existing media to create new texts offers high school teachers a non-traditional approach to teaching English Language Arts (ELA). As technology in the U.S. has become more accessible and affordable, literacy practices outside school classrooms have changed. While there is a growing body of research about remix and remix culture, most of it is set outside the ELA classroom by focusing on activities after school hours or specialty courses in creative writing or technology classes. Teachers’ points of view are largely left out of studies that examine in-school experiences with remix. Additionally, existing studies are often set in either higher education or elementary schools. This case study sought to understand how two high school ELA teachers experienced using remix as a tool for teaching and how practicing remix informed their pedagogies. The study revealed insight into why teachers find it challenging to practice new pedagogies in their teaching. I grounded my theoretical framework in sociocultural theories and a remix of Peirce’s (1898) semiotic theory with Rosenblatt’s (1938/1995) transactionalism. Designed within a case study methodology, data sources included teacher remixes, recorded conversations in online meetings, emails, texts, telephone calls, and a detailed researcher journal. Data analysis included multiple iterations of open coding of transcripts, informed by grounded theory and tools of discourse analysis, as well as visual analyses of teacher-created remixes. Key findings showed that, while teachers desired to incorporate remix teaching tools for meeting student needs, constraints of professional learning obligations, state standards, and administrator expectations limited their use of non-traditional practices. Both teachers approached remix differently, encouraging their students to construct meaning through multimodal tools, while still finding paths to meeting administrative requirements through remix. Further, remix allowed teachers to increase the student-centeredness of their pedagogy and at the same time support multiple student learning styles. This study also extends prior theoretical scholarship about remix by contributing a study of knowledge-in-action, focusing on teachers as their remix experiences unfolded.
Recommended Citation
Loomis, Stephanie J. and Loomis, Stephanie J., "Remixing Pedagogy: How Teachers Experience Remix as a Tool for Teaching English Language Arts." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2019.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/14424628
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/14424628