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Composition Studies and Teaching Anxiety: A Pilot Study of Teaching Groups and Discipline- and Program-Specific Triggers

Thomas, Brennan M.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1151207488

Abstract Details

2006, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, English/Rhetoric and Writing.
Although previous studies on teaching anxiety have clarified the general characteristics and manifestations of this phenomenon and established the need for more effective teacher preparation programs, most do not reflect the practices or concerns of writing instructors or indicate how or why they experience anxiety. The purpose of this dissertation, therefore, was to determine how the rhetorical and situational elements of writing instruction contribute to teaching anxiety and to what extent composition instructors attempt to resolve or minimize the effects of potential triggers and symptoms. Over a period of sixteen weeks, five first-year composition instructors completed a series of interviews and surveys related to their teaching and met periodically in small groups to discuss instructional matters and strategies for handling them. Data yielded from interview and group session transcripts and survey responses indicated that a) general teaching anxiety triggers (that is, triggers found in any discipline and at any level) are often compounded by discipline- and/or program-specific anxiety triggers, b) the potential anxiety triggers instructors reported or exhibited seem to interfere with their abilities to successfully impart student learning, and c) instructors’ behavioral responses to such anxiety triggers are influenced by what they consider to be the likeliest and/or most addressable sources of their anxiety. These findings provide several starting points for a much needed in-depth look into the causes and manifestations of and possible remedies for teaching anxiety as well as the long-term effects of teacher preparation and faculty development programs on anxiety and job performance.
Sue Carter Wood (Advisor)
243 p.
teaching anxiety; communication apprehension; teacher efficacy; efficacy; composition instruction; writing instruction; composition studies; rhetoric and composition; first-year composition; teacher-student communication; writing program administration

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Thomas, B. M. (2006). Composition Studies and Teaching Anxiety: A Pilot Study of Teaching Groups and Discipline- and Program-Specific Triggers [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1151207488

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Thomas, Brennan. Composition Studies and Teaching Anxiety: A Pilot Study of Teaching Groups and Discipline- and Program-Specific Triggers. 2006. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1151207488.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Thomas, Brennan. "Composition Studies and Teaching Anxiety: A Pilot Study of Teaching Groups and Discipline- and Program-Specific Triggers." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1151207488

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1151207488
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© 2006, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.