This article illustrates how we incorporated discourse-based interviews (DBIs) into a mixed-methods research study informed by the heuristics of institutional ethnography (IE). As the first stage of a longitudinal study designed to understand what, where, and how "writing" means across our university, our research used DBIs in a writing…

This article draws on examples of student interviews incorporating multiple modalities to explore the writing lives of students as part of a larger project focusing on participants' experiences of writing within and beyond the university. We explain this innovative, iterative research method combining multiple texts and maps, characterizing it as…

Discourse-based interviews allow researchers to gather data about a writer's understanding of what informs a task. This method was essential for a research team seeking to understand the impact of programmatic learning objectives on student writing development. Three decisions in the approach to this research project sought to center the student…

This approach article describes the structure of the new Composition and Speech Program at Delaware State University, particularly in light of the use of discourse-based interview (DBI) methodology in the development process of the program. The program includes a 4-course sequence--three 2-credit hour composition courses and one 3-credit hour…

This dissertation examines how modernity sets conditions within higher education and how those conditions impact writing-related transfer. I draw on research into modernity and higher education; narratives of teaching writing; and a qualitative research project with student-athletes, student-non-athletes, and writing tutors to explore how…

Very few empirical studies have investigated programmes in which doctoral students act as peer facilitators in faculty writing groups. We report on the development of a centrally delivered doctoral student writing programme in which twenty student participants were mentored and provided with the resources to initiate their own faculty-based…

International students represent a large portion of student populations at some higher education institutions in the United States. In response to the complexity of the student immigration process, more international students are choosing to pursue their US degrees online, while fulfilling their personal and professional obligations in their home…

This article describes the findings of a qualitative phenomenographic study that explored students' engagement from the perspective of the students. It describes how the participants perceived their engagement when they learned social studies using GIS Story Maps. Qualitative data collection involved classroom observations, student-written…

This article proposes that a queer reading of failure might offer opportunities to re-think the affective-political practice of doctoral writing. It examines data from one case in Aotearoa New Zealand to illustrate how a doctoral student negotiates "failure" in relation to their writing practice and identity. While higher education…

This study is an examination of the outcomes of practicing autoethnography, specifically in the context of first-year undergraduate, writing-intensive courses. The researcher recounts his initial, inspiring encounter with autoethnography and explores the possibility of its pedagogical application in composition instruction. Autoethnography is a…

The present study investigates the effects of two subsequent learning contexts, formal instruction (FI) at home and a 3-month stay abroad (SA), on vocabulary acquisition in English as a foreign language (EFL) writing and speaking. Data were collected from 30 Catalan/Spanish learners of English before and after each learning period using a written…

In this interview, Shirley Wilson Logan reflects on her major roles as a scholar, teacher, and an administrator. She describes her journey as chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, only one of a few black women to do so. Logan is also credited with launching the study of African American women's rhetoric as a field,…

Over the last decade celebrations of student writing (CSWs) have been instituted at universities across the nation as a public way to celebrate students' voices, identities, and literacies. Often touted as a way to gain campus-wide recognition and support for first-year composition courses, this event also purportedly fosters agency and authority…

Hosting guest speakers is a common practice among instructors because it can yield new insights for students. However, the experience is often disappointing. This article refers to guest experts to signal a break from the conventional approach, in which guest speakers deliver information primarily in a one-directional manner without any engagement…

The relevance of the problem under investigation is caused by the fact that in the context of the modernization of the education system one of the main tasks of higher education is the formation of the students' key competencies. The article aims to compare the model of higher education in Kazakhstan and abroad, reveal the differences and identify…