| My fulfillment in life comes through helping others develop their potential, work through their troubles, and follow their dreams. I have found that my college students embrace this aspect as I teach them expressive, author-involved writing. Peter Elbow's work asserts that this type of writing fits into his theory of personal development, which is based on common ideals of self, belief, and voice. I have written instructional materials for introductory college composition courses that follow Elbow in these principles. I believe this course, "Writing the True Self," and its accompanying philosophy strongly resonate with students attending Brigham Young University--Hawaii. Having been brought up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as LDS Church or Mormon Church), these students come from a cultural literacy context in which authorship and personal development are related. Therefore, in this research project, I examined student development in my English 101 classes at this church-sponsored university where 95% of students are Latter-day Saints. Particular attention was paid to changes in each person's articulation of consciousness, core values, and higher aspects: the "personal logos of the heart," or "true self." The case studies were based primarily on two of their five assignments, impressions of their class participation, and transcripts of student-teacher conferences. They are portraits that suggest overwhelmingly that class members, in response to this curricular approach were gaining a deeper understanding of themselves. |
