Ho Chi-ho. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-155). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --- p.i / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / Chapter CHAPTER 1: --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction of the Process Approach: An Innovation in Writing Instruction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Introduction of Peer Response: A Crucial Element of the Process Approach --- p.4 / Chapter CHAPTER 2: --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.8 / Chapter 2.1 --- Benefits of Peer Response --- p.8 / Chapter 2.2 --- Problems of Peer Response --- p.10 / Chapter 2.3 --- Teachers' and/or Students' Perceptions of Peer Response --- p.11 / Chapter 2.4 --- Comparison of Teacher Response with Peer Response --- p.14 / Chapter 2.5 --- """Product"" of Peer Response: Its Effectiveness on Students' Revisions of Their Drafts" --- p.16 / Chapter 2.6 --- """Process"" of Peer Response: The Implementation Process" --- p.17 / Chapter 2.7 --- Other Aspects of Peer Response --- p.18 / Chapter CHAPTER 3: --- METHODOLOGY --- p.21 / Chapter 3.1 --- Research Questions --- p.21 / Chapter 3.2 --- Research Approach --- p.21 / Chapter 3.3 --- Research Participants --- p.22 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Profile of the Participants --- p.22 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Knowledge and Experience of Process Writing and Peer Response of the Participants --- p.25 / Chapter 3.4 --- Research Instruments --- p.26 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Semi-structured Interviews (With the Participating Teachers) --- p.27 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Classroom Observations --- p.27 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- Researcher-teacher Meetings --- p.28 / Chapter 3.4.4 --- Questionnaire Survey (With the Participating Students) --- p.29 / Chapter 3.4.5 --- Researcher-student Meetings --- p.29 / Chapter 3.5 --- Research Procedures --- p.30 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Stage 1: Teacher Training --- p.31 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Stage 2: Student Training --- p.32 / Chapter 3.5.3 --- Stage 3: Data Collection --- p.32 / Chapter 3.6 --- The English Lessons and Writing Classes --- p.33 / Chapter CHAPTER 4: --- RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS --- p.35 / Chapter 4.1 --- Challenges Faced by the Participating Teachers throughout the Implementation of Peer Response --- p.36 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Challenges Faced by All the Teachers (Common Challenges) --- p.36 / Chapter 4.1.1.1 --- A Lack of Time to Implement Peer Response in Class --- p.36 / Chapter 4.1.1.2 --- An Increase in Workload Due to Preparation and Follow-up Work --- p.44 / Chapter 4.1.1.3 --- A Heavy Demand on Students --- p.50 / Chapter 4.1.1.4 --- A Lack of Confidence to Implement Peer Response --- p.53 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Challenges Faced by Individual Teachers (Individual Challenges) --- p.55 / Chapter 4.1.2.1 --- Impact of the Traditional Writing Instruction and Assessment Method --- p.56 / Chapter 4.1.2.2 --- Students' Low English Proficiency --- p.58 / Chapter 4.1.2.3 --- Students' Tendency to Focus on Language throughout the Process --- p.60 / Chapter 4.2 --- Challenges Faced by the Participating Students throughout the Experience of Peer Response --- p.67 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Challenges Faced by the Majority of Students (Common Challenges) --- p.67 / Chapter 4.2.1.1 --- A Lack of Time to Complete the Peer Response Tasks --- p.67 / Chapter 4.2.1.2 --- A Lack of Opportunities to Discuss Responses with Peers --- p.72 / Chapter 4.2.1.3 --- A Lack of Confidence in Giving Responses and Incorporating Peers' Responses --- p.75 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Challenges Faced by Individual or Individual Groups of Students (Individual Challenges) --- p.80 / Chapter 4.2.2.1 --- Impact of the Traditional Writing Instruction and Assessment Method --- p.80 / Chapter 4.2.2.2 --- Impact of Traditional Chinese Culture --- p.82 / Chapter 4.3 --- Attitudes of the Participating Teachers toward Peer Response before and after the Implementation --- p.84 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Attitudes toward the Preparation of Peer Response --- p.85 / Chapter 4.3.1.1 --- Attitudes toward the Preparation of Peer Response Materials and Tasks --- p.85 / Chapter 4.3.1.2 --- Attitudes toward Student Training --- p.90 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Attitudes toward the Implementation of Peer Response in the Classroom --- p.94 / Chapter 4.3.2.1 --- Attitudes toward Language Use --- p.94 / Chapter 4.3.2.2 --- Attitudes toward Time Management --- p.97 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Attitudes toward the Follow-up Work of Peer Response --- p.100 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- Attitudes toward Peer Response As a Whole --- p.102 / Chapter 4.3.4.1 --- Attitudes toward the Idea of Peer Response --- p.103 / Chapter 4.3.4.2 --- Attitudes toward the Applicability of Peer Response --- p.105 / Chapter 4.4 --- Attitudes of the Participating Students toward Peer Response after Their First Experience and after They Have Experienced It for One and a Half School Terms --- p.115 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Attitudes toward Reading Peers' Compositions --- p.115 / Chapter 4.4.1.1 --- Attitudes toward the Degree of Enjoyment When Reading Peers' Compositions --- p.115 / Chapter 4.4.1.2 --- Attitudes toward the Degree of Understanding of Peers' Compositions --- p.118 / Chapter 4.4.1.3 --- Attitudes toward the Benefits of Reading Peers' Compositions --- p.120 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Attitudes toward Giving Responses to Peers' Compositions --- p.121 / Chapter 4.4.2.1 --- Attitudes toward the Degree of Enjoyment When Giving Responses to Peers' Compositions --- p.122 / Chapter 4.4.2.2 --- Attitudes toward the Degree of Comfort and Confidence When Giving Responses to Peers' Compositions --- p.123 / Chapter 4.4.2.3 --- Attitudes toward the Benefits of Giving Responses to Peers' Compositions --- p.125 / Chapter 4.4.3 --- Attitudes toward Reading Peers' Responses --- p.126 / Chapter 4.4.3.1 --- Attitudes toward the Degree of Enjoyment When Reading Peers' Responses --- p.127 / Chapter 4.4.3.2 --- Attitudes toward the Degree of Understanding of Peers' Responses --- p.127 / Chapter 4.4.3.3 --- Attitudes toward the Reliability of Peers' Responses --- p.128 / Chapter 4.4.4 --- Attitudes toward Peer Response As a Whole --- p.131 / Chapter 4.4.4.1 --- Attitudes toward Their Seriousness throughout the Peer Response Process --- p.131 / Chapter 4.4.4.2 --- Attitudes toward the Benefits of Peer Response --- p.132 / Chapter 4.4.4.3 --- Attitudes toward Their Willingness to Have Peer Responsein Future --- p.133 / Chapter CHAPTER 5: --- CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS --- p.136 / Chapter 5.1 --- Conclusions --- p.136 / Chapter 5.2 --- Implications --- p.137 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Pedagogical Implications --- p.138 / Chapter 5.2.1.1 --- Maintain a Balance between Theoretical and Practical Emphases during Teacher Training and Student Training --- p.138 / Chapter 5.2.1.2 --- Provide Students with Specific Instructions and Demonstrations --- p.139 / Chapter 5.2.1.3 --- Establish a Strong Linkage between Peer Response and Prewriting Activities --- p.140 / Chapter 5.2.1.4 --- Implement Peer Response Flexibly --- p.141 / Chapter 5.2.1.5 --- Consider the Multiple and Long-term Benefits of Peer Response --- p.144 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Research Implications --- p.145 / Chapter 5.2.2.1 --- Limitations of This Study --- p.145 / Chapter 5.2.2.1.1 --- Uneven Input Received by the Three Teachers from the Researcher --- p.145 / Chapter 5.2.2.1.2 --- Slightly Short Data Collection Period --- p.146 / Chapter 5.2.2.1.3 --- Lack of a Pilot Study --- p.146 / Chapter 5.2.2.1.4 --- Similar/Identical Teaching Context of the Participating Teachers --- p.147 / Chapter 5.2.2.2 --- Suggestions for Future Research --- p.147 / REFERENCES --- p.150 / APPENDICES / Appendix A: Questions for Pre-study Interviews with Teachers --- p.156 / Appendix B: Classroom Observation Guide --- p.157 / Appendix C: Questions for Researcher-teacher Meetings --- p.160 / Appendix D1: Questionnaire (How do you feel after your first experience of peer response?) --- p.162 / Appendix D2: Questionnaire (How do you feel after experiencing peer response for one and a half school terms?) --- p.165 / Appendix E: Questions for Researcher-student Meetings --- p.168 / Appendix F: Guidelines concerning the Time Allocation of the Teaching of Each Composition (Provided by the English Department of the school) --- p.170 / Appendix G1: Sample Peer Response Sheet (For Composition 1) --- p.171 / Appendix G2: Sample Peer Response Sheet (For Composition 2) --- p.172 / Appendix G3: Sample Peer Response Sheet (For Composition 3) --- p.173

published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

The area of discourse acquisition and writing in higher education has become a much researched field. In South Africa the interest in discourse acquisition and writing has been partly in response to the change in student profile, particularly over the past ten years. While South African researchers and academics are increasingly focusing their interest in discourse acquisition and writing on the unique circumstances here, they rely on theories based on research done in very different social contexts. These theories are not necessarily universally appropriate. South Africa is currently undergoing a period of transformation in higher education aimed at greater access and equity for black students and academics. The accompanying sense of frustration and disillusionment among students and academics underlines the need to reappraise all aspects of higher education. Much of the research on discourse acquisition and writing is undertaken in arts programmes: vocational fields - such as engineering education - tend to be neglected. If the envisaged growth in science and engineering education is to be realised, it is essential that research in discourse and writing be undertaken in engineering programmes. This study investigates discourse acquisition as experienced by students in a South African engineering faculty. The experiences of six final year technikon students are investigated to gain a better understanding of what it means to acquire the discourse of engineering. The phenomenological method used requires that the researcher suspends or brackets a priori theoretical notions or pre-conceptions so that that which the students experience, rather than what the researcher expects in terms of theory, can emerge. What emerges from the students' experiences is partially congruent with established discourse and writing theories. However, some of the student experiences of discourse acquisition differ in significant ways from what is described in mainstream writing and discourse acquisition theory. The differences in the manner in which these students experience their acquisition of engineering discourse leads to a new understanding of the phenomenon. The students do not experience the alienation or struggle described in mainstream theoretic accounts of discourse acquisition. Students' approaches to writing are affected by their awareness of their multiple identities and the different locations in which they learn. Their approaches to writing are significantly different in some respects from descriptions in mainstream theories in some respects. The description of their experiences gives a different understanding of what it means to acquire the discourse of engineering, and may contribute to the reappraisal of engineering education in a contemporary South African context.

Thesis (MEd)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Current intervention programmes implemented in most Western Cape schools reflect the use of isolated item-based literacy teaching methods. However, the low literacy levels in the Western Cape primary grades do not indicate successful literacy learning. Therefore, this study seeks to implement alternative approaches to fostering literacy comprehension, such as socio-cognitive processing and constructivist approaches, which are more in line with current research than the traditional items based models of literacy instruction. The alternative, research-based methods were explored through the implementation of an individualized contingent literacy intervention with emergent literacy learners. The intervention took shape as a comparison between low progress learners, who participated in the literacy intervention lessons, and average progress learners, who did not participate in the literacy intervention lessons. The aim was to accelerate the low progress learners’ literacy learning so that they could reach the average-band performance of their classmates after 12 weeks in the intervention. Data were gathered by means of observations of learners and a Grade one teacher, an interview with the teacher and assessment results obtained in a pre-mid-post-test design. In order to triangulate the results of the intervention, both qualitative data and quantitative data were obtained and discussed. Based on qualitative data, the intervention lessons proved to be successful, because observations indicated positive change in the low progress learners’ reading and writing behaviours. Given the small sample size, the overall trend in the quantitative data supported the value of the intervention and indicated a need for extending the research beyond a pilot study. Further research using larger sample sizes is thus recommended. More research is also needed to obtain data on research-based interventions that are flexible enough to meet the diverse needs of learners from different cultural backgrounds. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die meerderheid Wes-Kaapse skole maak gebruik van intervensie programme wat geskoei is op die geïsoleerde item-geletterdheidsmetodes. Die lae geletterdheidsvlakke in die Wes- Kaapse laerskool grade reflekteer egter nie positief op die metode wat tans gebruik word nie. Daarom word hierdie studie onderneem met die oog op alternatiewe benaderings om geletterdheid te bevorder en sodoende verbeterde leesbegrip tot gevolg sal hê. Die benaderings ter sprake is sosio-kognitiewe prossessering en konstruktivistiese benaderings, wat beide meer in gehoor is met huidge navorsing. Deur alternatiwe navorsingsgebaseerde metodes, is ‘n individuele geletterdheid-intervensie program ontwikkel vir ontluikende geletterdheidsleerders. Die intervensie is geïmplementeer en gemeet deur middel van ‘n vergelyking tussen stadig vorderende leerders en gemiddeld vorderende leerders, waarvan laasgenoemde nie in die intervensie lesse deelgeneem het nie. Sodoende kan die impak onafhanklik vergelyk word. Die doel was om die stadig vorderende leerders se geletterdheidsvlak te versnel ten einde dieselfde geletterdheidsvlak van hul gemiddeld vorderende klasmaats binne 12 weke te behaal. Data is ingesamel deur middel van observasies van die leerders en ‘n Graad 1 juffrou, ‘n onderhoud met die juffrou en toetsresultate verkry in ‘n voor-middel-na-toets ontwerp. Om die resultate van die intervensie interpreteerbaar te vergelyk, is beide kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe data ingesamel en bespreek. Uit die kwalitatiewe data blyk dit dat die intervensie lesse suksesvol was aangesien die observasies dui op ‘n positiewe lees en skryf gedragsverandering in die stadig vorderende leerders. Met die klein steekproef van leerders betrokke, was die algemene tendens van die kwantitatiewe data dat die intervensie wel waardevol was, maar dat verdere studies met groter steekproef groepe noodsaaklik is. Verdere navorsing t.o.v. die insameling van data vir navorsingsgebaseerde intervensies is nodig. Hierdie data insameling en evaluasie tegnieke moet die diverse behoeftes van leerders, afkomstig van ‘n verskeidenheid agtergronde, in ag neem en akkomodeer om resultate vergelykbaar te maak.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Socratic questioning, an approach that builds critical thinking skills and fosters learning by constructing new knowledge, was an effective tool for improving student perceptions of the writing process. The main research question that was examined in this study was: How can Socratic questioning improve students' perceptions of writing and the writing process? Qualitative research methods were used as a framework for the design of this study as well as purposeful student sampling, triangulation of three data sources, and an extensive coding process. Findings from the study support that Socratic questioning can positively impact students: the first major finding was that student perceptions of the writing process improved, and the second major finding was that student perceptions of their own identities as writers improved as well. After the study, students found that being an effective writer was possible and that evaluation of one's writing was a vital part of becoming a better writer. Most importantly, after participating in this study, students believed themselves to be writers.

This practitioner research study uses qualitative data collection and analysis methods to explore student engagement with critical and multimodal literacy curriculum in the context of a writing course focused on storytelling. This research addresses the issue of deficit framing in schools serving Youths of Color and the negative characterizations that lead to assumptions about their learning capability based upon their racialized identity. As a result of these deficit discourses, Youths of Color are often positioned as at risk by educators, an assumption which often results in schools that lack intellectually robust and culturally relevant learning opportunities. In an effort to surface and disrupt deficit discourses, I looked to literacy theories such as critical, multimodal, and community literacies, which seek to expand the literacies valued in schools serving youth of color. To frame my inquiry, I asked: (1) What are students’ perspectives and inquiries regarding race, class, gender, and other social framings, and how do these change over time? and (2) How does this research inform my growing understanding of what it means to teach well? Over the course of one school year, I engaged with a group of 10 students in a school labeled as “in need of improvement” in a critically focused, multimodal storytelling curriculum designed to allow student interest and engagement with social issues as a guide for planning learning experiences. By collecting and analyzing student artifacts, discussion transcripts, interview data, and correspondence surrounding critical incidents over the course of the school year, I found that students used storytelling practices to critique social issues in both the surrounding city and the school community, displaying a plethora of Community Cultural Wealth which disrupts assumptions about Youths of Color. Despite this evidence of student Cultural Wealth, I found that the school culture was not a Culturally Sustaining atmosphere due to the over-reliance on compliance to district reform plans strictly aligned to discourses of standardization and accountability. These findings bridge the theory practice gap to help inform administrators, educators, and researchers alike by displaying the extensive daily effects societal education discourses have on students’ day-to-day educational experiences.

I used an alternating treatments design and a delayed multiple probe across participants design to conduct a functional analysis of the effects of a social condition on the direct reinforcement value of writing and indirect conditioned reinforcement for writing. I defined the direct reinforcement value of writing as writing taking place under conditions where the natural contingencies of writing resulted in the participant emitting the behavior. That is, writing automatically or implicitly reinforced the participant’s behavior and the reinforcement was intrinsic to the stimulus. I defined indirect conditioned reinforcement for writing as changes in performance (the emission of behaviors already in repertoire) or learning (acquisition of new repertoires) when opportunities to write were the consequence for responding. I conducted a functional analysis of indirect conditioned reinforcement for emitting performance behaviors through analyzing changes in rate of writing the letters A-Z. Two treatment conditions were implemented in which green tickets (access to a preferred activity) or red tickets (opportunities to write) were delivered upon responding to the performance task. I tested indirect conditioned reinforcement for learning new operants through analyzing correct responding when participants were given opportunities to learn new chemical element names. For this dependent variable, participants were given immediate access to an opportunity to write upon correct responses to learning presentations. Lastly, I measured the direct reinforcement value of writing in 5-minute observations of responding to writing tasks, where I collected data on whole, 5 s intervals of writing. After establishing that participants’ behaviors were not directly or indirectly reinforced by writing, I exposed participants to a social condition where he or she was deprived of opportunities to write. I chose participants because their rate of writing was slow and writing was not a preferred activity. I conducted 2 experiments, with the second as a replication and expansion of the first. Experiment 1 results showed writing was not an indirect reinforcer for emitting performance behaviors and learning new operants, and writing was not a direct reinforcer. Following the social condition, direct reinforcement for writing increased for all participants and opportunities to write were indirect reinforcers for performance behaviors and acquisition of new operants for 2 participants, with marginal increases for 1 participant. Experiment 2 was a replication of Experiment 1, with 4 added dependent variables including number of letters written, number of words written, a statistical analysis of naïve readers’ scores of permanent products, and numbers of correct structural and technical components. Results showed increases in direct reinforcement for all participants, and increases in indirect reinforcement for emitting performance behaviors for 2 out of 4 participants. Indirect reinforcement for learning new behaviors increased for 3 participants. Results are discussed in terms of the onset of the demonstration of the ability to acquire new reinforcers via social conditions as a prerequisite for some verbal developmental cusps, different kinds of reinforcement, and writing in the context of today’s educational practices.

Dialogic argument activities have been shown to facilitate the development of argumentative writing in young adolescents. The present study investigates the extent to which collaborative writing has a further facilitative effect, serving as a bridge between the dialogic and individual writing contexts. Over the course of one school year, a total of 54 students in two low-performing 7th grade classes participated in a twice-weekly dialogic argument curriculum of known effectiveness that included various kinds of dialogic activities addressing a sequence of four topics an individual essay as the culminating activity for each of the topics. In a quasi-experimental design, one class was randomly chosen as an experimental group and the other as a comparison group. The participation of the two classes in the curriculum was identical except that in one class students had an additional activity toward the end of each 15-session topic unit, during which they were asked to collaborate with a classmate who held the opposing view on the topic and produce a jointly written essay. The comparison group also wrote an interim essay but did so individually rather than collaboratively. Compared to students who only wrote individually, collaborative writers performed better on their subsequent final individual essays on the topic. They anticipated the arguments of the other side better, and countered them using an integrative argumentation structure more often. Further, they repeated ideas less often and had more unique idea units in their essays. To explore the collaborative processes possibly underlying the differences between the groups, analyses of digital voice recordings from the collaborative writing activity were examined. In addition, the transfer of ideas from the collaborative to subsequent individual essays was examined. The recordings of verbal dialogue between the pair engaged in collaborative essay writing show an increase over the year in metacognitive dialogue pertaining to their task. Furthermore, in their subsequent individually-written essays, students utilized and built on ideas presented by their partner. Most notable was inclusion in the individual essay of arguments and evidence supporting the opposing partner’s position, particularly when the ideas presented supported the opposite side of the argument. Both of these developments support the view that collaborative writing aids in the development of an argumentative mindset that transforms inter-individual dialogue into intra-individual reflection.

The purpose of this case study was to examine what would happen when poetry writing was incorporated into a technical writing course for engineering students. To make poetry relevant to engineering students and topics of technical writing, a low-stakes assignment of poetry writing as prewriting about a technical object, called Technical Poetry, was designed and paired with a high-stakes assignment of technical description. The study explored with a group of engineering students their experiences of writing technical poetry, how they perceived it, and how it changed their technical writings and perceptions of engineering. The study did not intend to teach the engineering students to become professional poets, but to keep the focus of the study on enhancing technical writing instruction and developing students’ technical writing through a creative, poetic, and expressive pedagogy. The problem that engineering students have, of writing for and communicating through technical documents with a broad range of audiences who vary from high-technical to low-technical and lay readers, demands a broad range of exercises in different writing forms and genres. The Expressive Theory of composition emphasizes the benefits of creative and poetic writing exercises that foster writing from alternative perspectives, such as the poet’s perspective, and eventually improve the students’ writing and communication skills. Furthermore, the Conceptual Metaphor Theory informed the study of the roles metaphors play in language and mind and how they can be applied to writing technical documents and clarifying complex technical and scientific matters for readers. Poetry was used as a creative and expressive pedagogical tool that introduced poetic devices such as metaphors, similes, and analogies to equip engineering students with language techniques for effective technical communication with a broad range of audiences. The practice of writing poetry and creating metaphors also served to familiarize the engineering students with the creative thinking experience used in industrial designing, inventing, and technical problem solving, referred to as biomimicry or biomimetic. A qualitative case study was designed for in-depth case-by-case research. Data were collected from multiple sources including the students’ technical poems, technical descriptions in prose, pre- and post-poetry reflections or questionnaires, and interviews. The study adopted coding and discourse analysis methods to examine the students’ metaphors in communicating complex technical concepts with lay readers, their experiences of technical poetry writing, and their perceptions of engineering through the creative poetic pedagogy. As a result, the vast majority of the students reported positive changes in their perceptions of poetry and engineering and showed more effectiveness in their technical writings. In addition to writing technical poems that embodied metaphors, the students wrote technical descriptions that included numerous metaphors which, in turn, made their technical writings more understandable and relatable to lay readers. Recommendations are offered for ways that technical writing instructors can design and apply poetic, expressive, and creative pedagogies. Poetry was one way to make a change in the way English instructors teach technical writing to engineering students. Further studies can look at the impact of other literary and creative pedagogies.

This ethnographic study is driven by the aim of understanding how an out-of-school learning program supports the development of youth artists and writers, particularly when it operates outside of institutional strictures such as mandatory grading, curricular guidelines, and tracking based on age and perceived abilities. The research is guided by the following overarching questions: 1) In what ways do Black, Latinx, and queer students demonstrate investment in critical multimodal literacies? 2) How do world-building projects reveal the possibilities and limits of the imagination? 3) What conditions can inspire youth to articulate their identities as evolving writers and leaders? This work argues that playing with multimodal projects and imaginative world-building opportunities provided generative conditions for young adults’ development as writers, creators, and mentors. By engaging in transdisciplinary projects that invited crafting, coding, urban planning, architectural modeling, and creative writing, youth participants contributed to a participatory learning environment that celebrated their inherent capacities as critical thinkers and actors. My research ultimately highlights the ways that critical multimodal literacies can promote powerful self-expressions, complex articulations of the future, and projections of self confidence through productive play and public engagement with wider audiences.