Exploring the Use of Perusall Social Annotating to Support Academic Reading and Writing

John Gibbons

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)

Department

Literature and Languages

Date of Award

1-10-2024

Abstract

As online collaboration continues to normalize in the post-pandemic digital age, how students engage online through collaborative learning has grown in importance. Web 2.0 has led to a shift in learner engagement that impacts the ways students interact with class content, and this provides opportunities for more meaningful collaboration and socially connected learning (Cress & Kimmerle, 2008; Gao; 2013, Halic et al., 2010; Redmond & Lock, 2006). The focus of online interactions has continued to move away from teacher-learner and learner-content interactions to higher quality learner-learner interactions that facilitate collaborative knowledge building through increased interactivity (Hirume, 2002; Woo & Reeves, 2007). Understanding how students learn with peers in the online class environment and identifying the most effective teaching strategies and tools for online learning are crucial challenges for educators. This is especially true as the demand grows for students to excel in immersive online learning environments (Bourdeaux & Schoenack, 2016; Dumford & Miller, 2018; García-Morales et al., 2021). More research needs to be done on how students in higher education collaborate in TESOL teacher training classes to co-construct knowledge through social annotating. Perusall is a social annotating platform that allows students to synchronously and asynchronously collaborate and exchange ideas on a joint text or file. This study fills the gaps in the literature on the use of social annotations in higher education, specifically responding to the need for more research on the benefits of teacher training courses. Furthermore, reading and writing connections in the online space is a topic of ever-growing interest in the current digitally infused learning era. Based on sociocultural theory and activity theory frameworks, this study examines how students in an undergraduate Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) course use Perusall to jointly read and annotate selected texts and then individually write review papers on the readings. This study explored the following areas: (1) how students interact and collaborate using social annotations to co-construct knowledge during a shared task, (2) student perceptions of using social annotation for reading/writing tasks in the activity system, and (3) how the knowledge co-created in Perusall reflected in individual student writing. Through the coding of annotations, this study unearthed various engagement patterns in their annotations. Four prominent categories emerged from the annotation data: (1) Clarification, where students actively sought to understand complex parts of the text; (2) Course Related Content, indicating a robust connection between readings and the ongoing coursework; (3) Future Teaching Roles, suggesting students' forward-thinking and application-oriented approach; and (4) Community Building: students showcased collective knowledge building while fostering deep social bonds using Perusall to collaborate on class texts. In response to student perceptions of using social annotation for reading and writing tasks within the activity system, activity theory and sociocultural theory served as investigative lenses. Through these frameworks, students' perceptions of Perusall were understood as shaped by goals, rules, and community dynamics. These elements of the social annotating activity system, from the objective of knowledge creation for review papers to community interaction, Perusall both afforded and, at times, constrained students' interactions and participation. Furthermore, in examining survey and interview data, student enthusiasm for social annotating was evident in their responses. A content analysis of individual writing revealed that students effectively integrated the co-constructed knowledge from Perusall into their personal assignments, with coded data from their individual writing mirroring the themes and knowledge found in their annotations. This underscores the platform's utility in facilitating comprehension and applying acquired knowledge. The findings emphasize Perusall's capability in promoting collaborative engagement and facilitating task distribution, and student responses highlighted its significant role in guiding interactions and fostering co-created knowledge. These results signal the potential of a broader pedagogical shift: educators can harness platforms like Perusall to cultivate critical thinking, collaboration, and peer learning, transforming classrooms into hubs of collective knowledge exchange. From an activity theory perspective, we better understand the interconnected dynamics of social annotating. Looking ahead, there are exciting research opportunities. It would be worthwhile to explore what teaching methods best fit for tools like Perusall, the long-term benefits of using such platforms relative to other collaborative practices, their applicability across diverse academic fields, and potential customization to cater to varied learning needs. Integrating technology with pedagogical methods, as seen with Perusall, offers promising avenues for reshaping educational landscapes that need better exploration.

Advisor

Mimi Li

Subject Categories

Linguistics | Social and Behavioral Sciences

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