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While much attention has been paid to the borders between those within and beyond the discipline of composition, the primary goal of this project is to examine the discourses which exist within composition and, subsequently, how these discourses might work to undermine pedagogy and scholarship. I take the position that even those working directly in composition do not offer clear, consistent consensus regarding concepts which are fundamental to the legitimacy of composition as a discipline. Thus, as we strive to meaningfully frame our work for our students and stakeholders, it is imperative that we confront the ambivalences in our own discussions. Throughout this project I use critical disability theory to reconcile underlying concepts of composition, such as instability and the contextual nature of language, with competing concepts that often undermine effective pedagogy. Addressing these gaps via disability theory illustrates various conceptual similarities between the two disciplines and highlights the problematic tensions found in composition. Chapters two, three, and four here confront gaps between composition theory and practice and offer ideas from disability studies as a means of exploration and potential resolution. I first examine the specific notion that writing centers are intended to foster student autonomy through a long-term focus on creating better writers, rather than better writing. By exploring the deeper theoretical implications of the writer versus writing dichotomy, I hope to expose as destructive one of its key assumptions—the possibility of writerly autonomy—and consider its effects on writing center work and composition practice more generally. From here, disability theory offers a means to decentralize autonomy as a defining term, via specific theories of representation and dependence. I then focus on what we can accomplish, given this rejection of autonomy, and how to most effectively share and build knowledge with students. I explore the relationship between knowledge transfer and narratives of overcoming disability through analysis of scholarship on first-year writing courses. I argue that a belief in easily generalizable knowledge, like a belief in autonomy, manifests in misconceptions of the successful first-year writing course and thus that knowledge transfer should be reconceptualized as agency, and offer a brief discussion of threshold concepts as one potential source for transfer-as-agency pedagogy. Building on these concepts, I then consider how to most effectively locate composition within the university structure, focusing specifically on WAC/WID programs and the disability concepts of accommodation and universal design. Theories of universal design illustrate that composition must be integrated into the curricula beyond first-year writing; this sort of comprehensive curricula is not without complication, however, so I also explore issues of authority which arise out of universal design perspectives. Finally, I offer three imagined scenarios meant to illustrate how individuals working within this disability theory-based framework might address different challenges related to writing instruction and to reinforce the enormous value of a disability studies approach to the work of composition. / English

While critical pedagogy, as introduced by Paulo Freire (1970), carries an extensive legacy of theoretical interpretation for rhetoric and composition praxis, this study argues that there is a lack of implementable models of practice in the context of first-year writing, particularly for new instructors and graduate teaching assistants. This study uses a three-part methodology. First, relevant scholarship is synthesized in four parts: critical pedagogy as theory, critical pedagogy as design for instructor accompliceship, critical pedagogy as method for students, and relevant critiques. Then, the project summarizes a gloss analysis of institutional climate, including a list of theory-informed, self-reflective instructor pre-work questions. Finally, the central model-building is conducted through a theory-informed coding of the Virginia Tech University Writing Program blueprint Literacy Narrative and Worknets projects. The result of this approach is a proposed implementable model (Miller, 2014) of critical pedagogy in practice for English 1105 at Virginia Tech, including invitational language, scaffolding exercises, and supportive assignments to affirm student agency, engage in instructor accompliceship, and create a climate of love and care in the writing classroom. This model is designed to transform critical pedagogy from unapproachable methodology to workable method that empowers and encourages instructors to try alternative approaches to the classroom. Implications of this work include furthering of diverse, inclusive methods of pedagogy that interrogate power boundaries, honor student/instructor identities, and complicate institutional power structures for WPAs and instructors. / Master of Arts / This project describes an approach to teaching first-year writing at the university level that is based on Paulo Freire's (1970) theory of critical pedagogy, a school of thought that centers the student as the authority in the classroom, rather than the teacher. Essentially, Freire (1970) argues for allowing students to explore their identities, their autonomy, and their existing power imbalances within their education, while the teacher stays out of the way. Possible effects of teaching in this way include a classroom that embodies empathy, care, and engagement for students, as well as a larger awareness of complex power structures. However, one of the largest problems within this scholarly conversation is a lack of suggestions for how to "do" critical pedagogy. While critical pedagogy exists widely in scholarly theory as a methodology, or study of methods, there are very few actual methods—or practical, repeatable, theory-based suggestions—that instructors can implement in their teaching. This study seeks to answer how the institutional climate—the branding, goals, and policies—of Virginia Tech invites an approach of critical pedagogy, as well as what a method of critical pedagogy might look like in the context of two projects within one of Virginia Tech's first-year writing courses. This project first considers relevant background scholarship on critical pedagogy before conducting a two-part analysis: first of the institutional landscape of Virginia Tech, and then of the two projects in their original format. The result is a model of practice that is usable and applicable for instructors teaching writing at Virginia Tech.

With the emergence of the digital age, and the convenience of producing, accessing, and disseminating information, information literacy (IL) has become a prominent topic in higher education, especially in First-Year Writing (FYW) classrooms. Although much research exists about students' struggle to acquire IL dispositions and practices, there is less scholarship about teachers' attitudes towards IL and how they implement IL concepts in the classroom. Rise Smith proposes that to ensure students master IL skills, higher education must ensure that instructors understand, value and apply IL in their teaching. Therefore, my study focuses on instructors' self-efficacy surrounding IL and how it impacts FYW pedagogy. Findings showed what IL concepts and subsequent strategies instructors prioritize and suggest possible reasons for these deliberate choices. The study also revealed that only half of the participants reported high self-efficacy in their own IL skills and in teaching IL competencies. Contributing factors to this confidence, which were revealed in the data, aligned with Bandura's factors of self-efficacy. This included mastery skill, vicarious experience, and social persuasion. The research suggests that as teachers practice IL skills personally and in their pedagogy, receive positive feedback from students, and have the vicarious experiences exhibited in IL professional trainings, they can gain stronger self-efficacy. And this in turn can benefit their IL instruction and students' learning experience.

Syllabi are an integral part of any college experience and an understanding for how the genre functions on a rhetorical level is an under-researched area in the field of higher education. Using the tools of rhetorical analysis—looking at language and genre structures—I gathered a selection of 25 First-Year Writing syllabi within the Department of English at Virginia Tech to help address this concern of a lack of research. Using qualitative research methods—specifically those dealing with language and genre coding—I worked through my syllabi selection to ascertain how the genre functions rhetorically. Using Mary Louise Pratt's idea of the "contact zone" as well as Rhetorical Genre Theories and Actor-Network Theory, I argue that beginning with an understanding for how the genre of syllabi function rhetorically will also help us understand how the genre can be communicative, in the sense that it sends a message, as well as performative. / Master of Arts / Syllabi are an integral part of any college experience and an understanding for how the genre functions on a rhetorical level is an under-researched area in the field of higher education. Using the tools of rhetorical analysis—looking at language and genre structures—I gathered a selection of 25 First-Year Writing syllabi within the Department of English at Virginia Tech to help address this concern of a lack of research. Using qualitative research methods—specifically those dealing with language and genre coding—I worked through my syllabi selection to ascertain how the genre functions rhetorically. Using Mary Louise Pratt’s idea of the “contact zone” as well as Rhetorical Genre Theories and Actor-Network Theory, I argue that beginning with an understanding for how the genre of syllabi function rhetorically will also help us understand how the genre can be communicative, in the sense that it sends a message, as well as performative.

College students seek degrees to obtain employment in their field of interest, however, as the 21st century progresses, employers are often requiring specific skills in addition to degrees and transcripts. As students graduate with their Associates, Bachelors, and Graduate degrees, they plan to present these degrees as sufficient evidence of their qualifications. However, there is recent criticism of college degrees as evidence of qualifications. A beneficial alternative for students would be digital badges. A digital badge is a visual representation that signifies a specific achievement with detailed metadata attached. Digital badges in first-year writing courses would benefit students as they develop specific writing and critical thinking skills as prompted by the curriculum. First-year writing digital badges can include: researching, synthesizing, writing process, constructing authority, etc. as deemed appropriate by the instructor. Ultimately, students will display their badges on their resumes, CVs, or any other document verifying their achievements.

As fully online course offerings continue to grow at colleges and universities around the country, we are faced with the challenge of preserving what we value in first-year writing while making the affordances of online environments work for our students. This dissertation explores how the online writing instructor, guided by feminist pedagogy and civic rhetoric, can begin to shift the center of power within the course, allowing students to become co-teachers and promoting the social construction of knowledge central to first-year writing. Facilitated by computer-mediated communication technologies, this approach relies on online activities that invite ongoing contributions from students, promote interactivity within the course, and facilitate a collaborative learning environment that can foster student success in online distance learning. Having studied the effects of these feminist moves on two sections of online first-year research and writing courses, I examine in this text their impact on the development of community, students’ impressions of their place within the community, and the decentering of the virtual learning space. Specifically, I explore how students can write to shape and to change our online community and how students tie their work within the course to their development as writers and critical thinkers. Ultimately, in combining the goals of feminist pedagogy, first-year writing, and civic rhetoric in our design and delivery of online writing courses, we can begin to fulfill our vision for significant learning experiences for our students that will be as good as or better than their experiences in the traditional classroom.