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The Rhetorical Challenge of Whiteness Within Blackboard for African American

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The Rhetorical Challenge of Whiteness Within Blackboard for African American The Rhetorical Challenge of Whiteness within Blackboard for African American Bidialectal Students at Elizabeth City State University Mary-Lynn Chambers April 2013 Director of Dissertation: Dr. Wendy Sharer Major Department: English Department This research will attempt to discover if there is a rhetorical challenge due to whiteness within Elizabeth City State University’s (ECSU) Blackboard (Bb) online education system when it is utilized by African American (AA) students whose dominant dialect is African American Vernacular English (AAVE). This study will gather data through the implementation of a survey and follow-up interviews. The analysis of the two sets of data will attempt to identify if this segment of the AA student body is hesitant to take online courses via Bb, if they have a stronger inclination for the need for call-response, tonal semantics, and non-verbal cues in their communication experiences when compared to the other participants, and if their need for these communication elements has an impact on their approach to online classes at ECSU. A Dissertation Presented To the Faculty of the Department of English East Carolina University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Technical and Professional Discourse by Mary-Lynn Chambers April 2013 @ Mary-Lynn Chambers, 2013 The Rhetorical Challenge of Whiteness within Blackboard for African American Bidialectic Students at Elizabeth City State University by Mary-Lynn Chambers APPROVED BY: DIRECTOR OF DISSERTATION THESIS: _______________________________________________________ Wendy Sharer, PhD COMMITTEE MEMBER: _______________________________________________________ Michelle Eble, PhD COMMITTEE MEMBER: ________________________________________________________ Reginald Watson, PhD COMMITTEE MEMBER: _______________________________________________________ Elizabeth Hodge, PhD CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH: ________________________________________________________________ Jeffrey Johnson, PhD DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL: ______________________________________________ Paul J. Gemperline, PhD Thanks to my husband, Bob, who believed in me at the conception, supported me through process, and celebrated with me at every milestone. Thanks to my family who stepped up when I needed to step back and who understood the struggle and believed in the dream. Thanks to my dissertation committee for their wisdom and guidance that forced me to critically analyze my research process and data analysis. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK , ANALYTICAL LENSES, AND PRESENT SCHOLARSHIP… 1 Where do I teach? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 What was my response to online classes at ECSU?……………………………………………………………… 2 What approach did I assume? …………………………………………………………………………………………… 3 What are my analytical lenses and how were they determined through secondary literature? 3 What is the role of whiteness, identity, and voice within Bb? ……………………….………………….. 4 How does whiteness impact the student/teacher relationship? ……………………………………….. 7 What are my research questions…………………………………………………………………………………..…….. 17 Limitations …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 18 CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY: THE SURVEY AND INTERVIEW ………………………………………………..…. 20 Introduction of the Survey and Interview Process ……………………………………………………………. 22 Definition and Implications of Terms ………………………………………………………………………………… 22 The Design of the Survey ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 25 The First Six Questions: Language and Hesitancy ………………………………………………………. 25 Question Seven and Eight: Language and Communication Styles ………………………………. 28 Questions Nine through Twelve: Feedback and Immediacy ……………………………………….. 29 Question Thirteen: Online Instructions Given and Venue Options ……………………………… 30 The Design of the Interview ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 32 CHAPTER THREE: DATA FROM THE SURVEY …………………………………………………………………………………… 36 Lack of Success in an Online Class …………………………………………………………………………………….. 39 Hesitancy to Take an Online Class ……………………………………………………………………………………… 41 Summary of VE-H-AA Students Data Regarding Taking Online Classes ……………………………… 43 Language and Dialect Confirmation …………………………………………………………………………………… 44 vi Method of Feedback between Instructor and Student ……………………………………………………… 46 Immediacy and Feedback ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 46 Preferred Mode of Feedback as it Relates to Immediacy …………………………………………….. 46 Method of Instruction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 53 Summary of Data Relating to the VE-H-AA Group …………………………………………………………….. 58 Overall Summary of Survey ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 59 CHAPTER FOUR: SUMMARY OF THE INTERVIEWS ………………………………………………………………………… 61 Lack of Success and Hesitancy Related to Online Classes ………………………………………………….. 62 Reasons for Lack of Success and Hesitancy in the SE-H-AA Group ………………………………. 65 Reasons for Lack of Success and Hesitancy in the SE-H-W Group ……………………………….. 69 Reasons for lack of Success and Hesitancy in the VE-H-AA Group ………………………………. 70 Method of Feedback between Instructor and Student ……………………………………………………. 71 Immediacy and Feedback ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 71 Preferred Mode of Feedback as it Relates to Immediacy ………………………………………………. 75 Modes of Feedback: Verbal or Written …………………………………………………………………………… 79 Method of Instructions Given by the Instructor ……………………………………………………………….. 80 Venue Options for Instructions Given by Instructor ………………………………………………………….. 84 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 95 CHAPTER FIVE: ANALYSIS, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………………………. 96 Lack of Success within the Bb Experience …………………………………………………………………………. 96 Hesitancy to Take an Online Class …………………………………………………………………………………….. 98 Hesitancy to Take an Online Class at ECSU ………………………………………………………………………. 99 Agency within Bb Relating to Success and Hesitancy ……………………………………………………… 105 Feedback between the Instructor and Student ……………………………………………………………… 106 vii Immediacy within Feedback …………………………………………………………………………………….. 106 Conclusions Regarding Immediacy within Feedback ………………………………………………… 107 Verbal and Written Feedback ……………………………………………………………………………………. 107 Conclusions Regarding the Preference of Verbal or Written Feedback ………………….…. 111 Instructions Given by the Instructor to the Student …………………………………………………….... 112 Verbal and Written Instructions …………………………………………………………………………………. 112 Overall Conclusions Regarding Instructions Given ………………………………………………………. 115 Online Venues for Incorporation into an Online Bb Course …………………………………………….. 116 Survey Results Regarding Students’ Preference of Venues ………………………………………… 116 Interview Results Regarding Students’ Preference of Venues ……………………………………… 116 Overall Conclusions Regarding Venues ………………………………………………………………………….. 117 Conclusions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 120 Future Research ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 121 Recommendations …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 121 Reference ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 123 Appendix A …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 128 Appendix B …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 131 Appendix C …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 134 Appendix D …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 140 IRB Approval ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 141 viii LIST OF CHARTS AND FIGURES Chart 1: Dialect, Ethnicity, and Hesitancy Regarding Blackboard Courses at ECSU …………………………. 2 ************************************************** Figure One: Percentage of Survey Respondents …………………………………………………………………………….. 36 Figure Two: The division of the six groups based on language, hesitancy, and race ………………………. 36 Figure Three: The Percent of Students Who Have or Have Not Taken an Online Class at ECSU ……. 37 Figure Four: Percent of Students Who Reported Success in an Online Class …………………………………. 39 Figure Five: Percent of Students Who Indicated their Hesitancy to Take Online Classes at ECSU ….. 40 Figure Six: Students’ Reasons for Hesitancy in Taking Online Classes …………………………………………….. 41 Figure Seven: Students’ Indication, in Percentage Form, Regarding Same Day or Next Day Feedback 47 Figure Eight: Students’ Indications, in Percentages, Regarding the Students’ Desire for Asynchronous Communication, Synchronous Communication, or Combination of the Two ………… 48 Figure Nine: Percent of Support between Questions Ten and Eleven ……………………………………………… 49 Figure Ten: Type of Feedback Preferred …………………………………………………………………………………………. 50 Figure Eleven: Students’ Indications, in Percentage Form, Regarding their Preference for Verbal or Written Instruction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 53 Figure Twelve: Correlation Between Students’ Responses for Feedback and Instruction ………………. 55 Figure Thirteen: Percentage of Students Who Preferred Either Webcast, YouTube, PowerPoint, Or Skype ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 56 Figure Fourteen: Enrollment, of Students Interviewed, in an Online Class at ECSU ………………………….. 58 ix Chapter One Theoretical Framework and Analytical Lenses Fall 2012 witnessed the launch of MOOC (massive open online courses) a collaborative initiative between Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offering free online courses. 370,000 students were enrolled when the first official fall course began. In the same year, Coursera, founded in January 2012 had 1.7 million enrolled according to The New York Times (Pappano, 2012). Clearly, learning online is a growing phenomenon.
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