Date of Award

Spring 2012

Document Type

Thesis

Terms of Use

© 2012 Hilary Hamilton. All rights reserved. This work is freely available courtesy of the author. It may only be used for non-commercial, educational, and research purposes. For all other uses, including reproduction and distribution, please contact the copyright holder.

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Educational Studies Department, English Literature Department

First Advisor

Diane Downer Anderson

Second Advisor

Jill M. Gladstein

Abstract

Digital storytelling, a project designed to build communities and develop multiliterate community members, has been reserved almost exclusively for adults. This practitioner research project challenges this practice by bringing the project to two groups of elementary school students under the assumption that students from diverse backgrounds would be able engage productively with the medium. While running these two workshops over the summer, a pre-service teacher collected data on her students’ experiences using ethnographic methods. This study looks at how these students engage with digital storytelling, what stories they decide to tell, and how they give and receive feedback. Ultimately, this study suggests that teachers need to do three things. They must recognize the complex process that takes place when students respond to one another’s stories. Teachers must create spaces in their classrooms where students can develop skills through creative work. And finally, teachers must challenge who gets to use what tools while also thinking critically about where these tools fall short.

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