The Digital Pedagogies Assessment Project undertaken by the 2015-16 WAC fellows (James Blair, Jenny LeRoy, and Amelia Marini), seeks to contextualize the increased use of digital platforms as a teaching resource, survey the digital pedagogy models currently in use by Baruch’s Great Works of English Literature Program and First-Year Writing Program, and make recommendations for improvement and best practice models. Our hope is that our findings will provide a resource for faculty, and offer preliminary information for a larger hybrid-course assessment to be undertaken at a future date.

In particular, our research focuses upon digital writing: the forms it takes, the quality of the class interactions that it fosters, and the way in which it promotes or hinders students’ expressions of ideas. By conducting a literature review on the rise of the course “blog” that encompasses both the technological impetus to modernize pedagogy, the administrative pressures of “going digital,” the potential gains and shortcomings of teaching and learning remotely, and specific examples of how these tools are best used, we hope to situate Baruch’s digital humanities initiatives within a larger conversation about technology, pedagogy, and writing.

In order to do this, we will be collecting data on site through a quantitative assessment of a selection of BlogsAtBaruch course blogs—scanning for learning indicators such as comprehension of material, fluency with language, collaboration and interaction with peers through comments or other means of linking, and the use of non-verbal media such as images, video, and sound. We will also be conducting interviews with both students and faculty on the quality of their experience using digital platforms in the classroom.

As a result of our research, we intend to form conclusions that may be generalizable for implementing or improving hybrid course offerings at Baruch and elsewhere within the CUNY system, or in other University settings. Specifically, as a final product, we expect to submit an article manuscript for a journal on pedagogy and education technology that draws upon our data.