Portfolios in the contact zone: Intersections of meaning

This dissertation begins with an examination of the proliferation of interest in contact zone concepts and portfolio systems of assessment in the context of the social turn of the early nineties. The key assertion is that examination of reflective writing included in end-of-course portfolios can yield valuable pedagogical information about how students navigate classes based upon the principles of the contact zone as articulated by Mary Louise Pratt. Often implemented by practitioners interested in deepening students' engagement with cultural and social issues, the literature in Composition Studies suggests that contact zone concepts may actually facilitate an environment conducive to the production of volatile discourse, thereby reinscribing traditional patterns of teacher-student authority and undercutting the potential benefits of the cultural studies setting (see Gray-Rosendale; Harris; Homer; Lu; Miller).;To examine the possible benefits of reflective writing in such settings, this qualitative single-subject teacher research study examines the reflective writing included in the portfolios of ten students in two first-year writing courses. The study includes descriptions of the process of coding and matrices development that led to the categories of analysis. Extensive textual analysis of the students' reflective writing indicated that the medium provided students with the ideological space (see Newkirk) in which to (1) explore resistance to ideas that challenged personal beliefs about social and cultural issues; (2) select modes of writing conducive to creative and individual expression; and (3) begin to conceive of themselves as writers composing from a particular identity and for a particular purpose. The study concludes with an examination of the possible implications of portfolio systems of assessment and reflective writing on current discussions of curricular reform in higher education, suggesting that such pedagogical practices assist students in becoming producers of knowledge by encouraging reflective practice, disrupting long-held assumptions about teaching practices, and reinforcing students' perceptions of themselves as agents of change. The study includes suggestions that further composition research is needed to examine the curricular implications of the connections among the disruption of expectations, response theory (Larson; Phelps; Straub), and self assessment practices within portfolio contexts.