Alecia Marie Magnifico
University of New Hampshire, English, Faculty Member
- Writing, Learning Sciences, Adolescent Literacy, Multiliteracies, Audience, Education, and 15 moreEducational Psychology, Creative Writing, Digital Media & Learning, Arts, Learning Design, Language Pedagogy, Digital Literacies, English Language Arts, Affinity Spaces, Qualitative Methods, Digital Media And New Literacies, New Literacies, Video Games and Learning, Social Media, and Englishedit
- I am a learning scientist whose research focuses on writing, digital literacies, and learning in formal and informal ... moreI am a learning scientist whose research focuses on writing, digital literacies, and learning in formal and informal environments. Currently, I am an assistant professor of English teaching at the University of New Hampshire, and I teach courses on English teaching, digital literacies, and research methods.
Previously, I have worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (with the Scholar online collaborative writing project), as a lecturer and graduate research assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (with the Games, Learning, and Society team and the Department of Educational Psychology), and as a middle and high school classroom teacher.edit
Much of the literature that developed rhetorical and cognitive viewpoints on audience suggests that when writers write with an audience in mind, imagined readers affect the writing. This paper investigates these audience effects by... more
Much of the literature that developed rhetorical and cognitive viewpoints on audience suggests that when writers write with an audience in mind, imagined readers affect the writing. This paper investigates these audience effects by examining a creative writing workshop and asking how conversations with readers lead to revisions. Drawn from a case study of an 11th grade classroom, this bidirectional artifact analysis traces writing through students’ drafts, revisions, and feedback. The resulting work shows how revision and writing development ties to interactions with readers—members of the students’ audience. Introduction and Research Questions Much of the literature that developed rhetorical (e.g. Ong, 1975; Berkenkotter, 1981) and cognitive (e.g. Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1987; Flower & Hayes, 1981) viewpoints on audience includes an implicit assumption: Real and imagined readers affect writers’ writing. Such studies have led to consequences in school writing curricula, including pr...
In this article the authors examine motivational constructs through the lens of new media-supported educational efforts. By examining a range of online, new-media-based learning communities and instructional technologies, they analyze the... more
In this article the authors examine motivational constructs through the lens of new media-supported educational efforts. By examining a range of online, new-media-based learning communities and instructional technologies, they analyze the ways in which motivation is positioned within the field of education, how ecologies of motivation embedded within new media might be understood, how motivation might be organized and represented, and how constructions of motivational elements in designed learning technologies might help us better understand their fit in different educational contexts and with different students.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The idea of knowledge has changed as well. The term liberal-arts was originally connected with the concept of liberty and referred literally to the education of free Athenians. Even as the term changed during medieval times to refer... more
The idea of knowledge has changed as well. The term liberal-arts was originally connected with the concept of liberty and referred literally to the education of free Athenians. Even as the term changed during medieval times to refer to an education that would enable the ...
Research Interests:
Giving students opportunities to interact with real readers of their work may not only motivate them to write, but also to take on new literacies and see themselves as writers in new ways. I detail two case studies of successful writing... more
Giving students opportunities to interact with real readers of their work may not only motivate them to write, but also to take on new literacies and see themselves as writers in new ways. I detail two case studies of successful writing communities---a high school classroom and an extracurricular arts program---and describe adolescent writing practices in the active (and often interactive) presence of the two different collaborative audiences. I discuss structural implications for the structure of authentic writing and writing workshop ...
Research Interests:
This chapter explores how writers respond to interactions with readers and audience members in two technology-mediated writing contexts: a Hunger Games fan’s use of FanFiction.net and a classroom using Scholar to write original narrative... more
This chapter explores how writers respond to interactions with readers and audience members in two technology-mediated writing contexts: a Hunger Games fan’s use of FanFiction.net and a classroom using Scholar to write original narrative texts. The authors look across the two spaces to analyze similarities in how the technology is used to foster interaction with readers and develop writers’ craft through these interactions. In particular, they analyze how writing functions in each space as a tool, a place, and a way of being. By considering the affordances of these two contexts, the authors argue that technology is changing how we write and learn to write, in and out-of-school, by connecting writers with an audience that can significantly shape their goals, skills, and processes.
Research Interests:
In order to understand the culture of the physical, virtual, and blended spheres that adolescents inhabit, we build on Gee's concept of affinity spaces. Drawing on our ethnographic research of adolescent literacies related to The Hunger... more
In order to understand the culture of the physical, virtual, and blended spheres that adolescents inhabit, we build on Gee's concept of affinity spaces. Drawing on our ethnographic research of adolescent literacies related to The Hunger Games novels, the Neopets online game, and The Sims videogames, this article explores the nature of interest-driven writing in these spaces. We argue that fan-based affinity spaces motivate young adults to write because they offer multiple modes of representation, diverse pathways to participation, and an authentic audience. As scholars and educators, we posit that these out-of-school spaces can offer youth new purposes, modes, and tools for their written work.
Research Interests:
As researchers seek to make sense of young people’s online literacy practices and participation, questions of methodology are important to consider. In our work to understand the culture of physical, virtual and blended spheres that... more
As researchers seek to make sense of young people’s online literacy practices and participation, questions of methodology are important to consider. In our work to understand the culture of physical, virtual and blended spheres that adolescents inhabit, we find it necessary to expand Gee’s (2004) notion of affinity spaces. In this article, we draw on our research examining adolescent literacies related to The Sims video games, The Hunger Games novels, and the Neopets online game to explicate nine features of affinity space research that reflect participation in, and research about, online environments. We argue that studying adolescent literacies in affinity spaces affords us access to participants outside our geographic proximity, readily available web-based historical record of the affinity spaces’ practices, and a way to trace literacy practices across portals, modes and texts. However, affinity space research poses challenges, including issues of recruiting and maintaining relationships with participants, the instability and impermanence of online environments and artefacts, and the porous boundaries of field sites. This article concludes with recommendations for future literacy research conducted in online spaces and implications for literacy teaching and learning. Our aim is to begin articulating a new methodological framework for studying affinity spaces: affinity space ethnography.
Research Interests:
Research suggests that young adults are motivated in school contexts when they believe in their own self-efficacy, have intrinsic motivation, set goals, experience agency, and demonstrate interest. To highlight how online spaces foster... more
Research suggests that young adults are motivated in school contexts when they believe in their own self-efficacy, have intrinsic motivation, set goals, experience agency, and demonstrate interest. To highlight how online spaces foster motivation, we focus specifically on two project-based DIY sites, Figment.com and Scratch.mit.edu. From reading and writing to programming and designing, these environments offer young adults around the world an opportunity to interact and collaborate with others around a shared passion. We focus specifically on the design features of these DIY sites and consider how they motivate young adults’ digital literacy practices.
Research Interests:
When writers write, how do they decide to whom they are speaking? How does this decision affect writers' cognition about writing? Their motivation to write? In this article, I review literature on cognitive and social processes of... more
When writers write, how do they decide to whom they are speaking? How does this decision affect writers' cognition about writing? Their motivation to write? In this article, I review literature on cognitive and social processes of writing, conceptualizations of audience, writing across distinct learning environments, and writers’ motivations. I then show how understandings of audience can be linked to those of motivation and interest -— and how this combination may bridge a traditional divide between research traditions. Finally, I examine the implications of bringing these areas of literature together; the necessity of re-examining the role of audience in light of new media-infused learning environments; and the opening of possible areas for future research in writing, audience, and motivation.
Research Interests:
In order to understand the culture of the physical, virtual, and blended spheres that adolescents inhabit, we build on Gee’s concept of affinity spaces. Drawing on our ethnographic research of adolescent literacies related to The Hunger... more
In order to understand the culture of the physical, virtual, and blended spheres that adolescents inhabit, we build on Gee’s concept of affinity spaces. Drawing on our ethnographic research of adolescent literacies related to The Hunger Games novels, the Neopets online game, and The Sims videogames, this article explores the nature of interest-driven writing in these spaces. We argue that fan-based affinity spaces motivate young adults to write because they offer multiple modes of representation, diverse pathways to participation, and an authentic audience. As scholars and educators, we posit that these out-of-school spaces can offer youth new purposes, modes, and tools for their written work.
Research Interests:
As researchers seek to make sense of young people’s online literacy practices and participation, questions of methodology are important to consider. In our work to understand the culture of physical, virtual, and blended spheres that... more
As researchers seek to make sense of young people’s online literacy practices and participation, questions of methodology are important to consider. In our work to understand the culture of physical, virtual, and blended spheres that adolescents inhabit, we find it necessary to expand Gee’s (2004) notion of affinity spaces. In this article, we draw on our research examining adolescent literacies related to The Sims video games, The Hunger Games novels, and the Neopets online game to explicate nine features of affinity space research that reflect participation in, and research about, online environments. We argue that studying adolescent literacies in affinity spaces affords us access to participants outside our geographic proximity, readily available web-based historical record of the affinity spaces’ practices, and a way to trace literacy practices across portals, modes, and texts. However, affinity space research poses challenges, including issues of recruiting and maintaining relationships with participants, the instability and impermanence of online environments and artifacts, and the porous boundaries of field sites. This article concludes with recommendations for future literacy research conducted in online spaces and implications for literacy teaching and learning. Our aim is to begin articulating a new methodological framework for studying affinity spaces: affinity space ethnography.
Research Interests:
This chapter explores how writers respond to interactions with readers and audience members in two technology-mediated writing contexts: a Hunger Games fan’s use of FanFiction.net and a classroom using Scholar to write original narrative... more
This chapter explores how writers respond to interactions with readers and audience members in two technology-mediated writing contexts: a Hunger Games fan’s use of FanFiction.net and a classroom using Scholar to write original narrative texts. The authors look across the two spaces to analyze similarities in how the technology is used to foster interaction with readers and develop writers’ craft through these interactions. In particular, they analyze how writing functions in each space as a tool, a place, and a way of being. By considering the affordances of these two contexts, the authors argue that technology is changing how we write and learn to write, in and out-of-school, by connecting writers with an audience that can significantly shape their goals, skills, and processes.
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT: As researchers seek to make sense of young people's online literacy practices and participation, questions of methodology are important to consider. In our work to understand the culture of physical, virtual and blended spheres... more
ABSTRACT: As researchers seek to make sense of young people's online literacy practices and participation, questions of methodology are important to consider. In our work to understand the culture of physical, virtual and blended spheres that adolescents inhabit, we find it necessary to expand Gee's (2004) notion of affinity spaces.
In this paper, we further articulate connective ethnography and consider how it may add to qualitative studies of collaborative learning in naturalistic, computer-mediated settings. Despite their physical separation, members of online... more
In this paper, we further articulate connective ethnography and consider how it may add to qualitative studies of collaborative learning in naturalistic, computer-mediated settings. Despite their physical separation, members of online affinity spaces work and learn together—they construct and review artifacts and share their work across sites. To trace these processes, we examine the complex artifacts and texts that constitute social practice in these spaces. We consider how expanding connective ethnography may meet researchers' needs in online contexts and we raise questions about how participants learn in these settings. Finally, we outline principles for an affinity space ethnography designed to capture the collaborative web of social interactions and audiences inherent to participation in affinity spaces.
Research Interests:
In order to understand and design learning environments that support new literacies, we must develop methods to describe the creative production of literacy artifacts. In this paper, we describe bidirectional artifact analysis, a... more
In order to understand and design learning environments that support new literacies, we must develop methods to describe the creative production of literacy artifacts. In this paper, we describe bidirectional artifact analysis, a framework that employs ethnographic observations of participants in situ, interviews over time, and the artifacts they create to trace young peoples’ creative production practices. While typical descriptive analyses move forwards, we move bidirectionally—from final product backwards and from initial idea forwards—to better understand participants’ learning processes and the role of social, collaborative audiences in that learning.
Much of the literature that developed and documented rhetorical and cognitive viewpoints on audience suggests that when writers write with an audience in mind, imagined readers affect the writing. This paper investigates these audience... more
Much of the literature that developed and documented rhetorical and cognitive viewpoints on audience suggests that when writers write with an audience in mind, imagined readers affect the writing. This paper investigates these audience effects by examining a creative writing workshop and asking how conversations with readers lead to revisions. Drawn from a case study of an 11th grade classroom, this bidirectional artifact analysis traces writing through students’ drafts, revisions, and feedback. The resulting work shows how revision and writing development ties to interactions with readers—members of the students’ audience.
Rather than taking established understandings of achievement goals and motivation orientations as given, this interview-based, qualitative analysis examines three creative writing environments—a secondary classroom, an extracurricular... more
Rather than taking established understandings of achievement goals and motivation orientations as given, this interview-based, qualitative analysis examines three creative writing environments—a secondary classroom, an extracurricular arts program, and an online game community—and analyzes adolescent participants’ understandings of their writing goals and motivations to write in particular settings. While such an approach relies on self-report and thus cannot capture implicit cognitions, its goal is to shed light on relationships among writers, contexts, and cognitions—and how traditional motivational paradigms may need to be amended to engage with such questions.