Inertia to Action: From Narrative Empathy to Political Agency in Young Adult Fiction

‘Now tell me...’ Tobias says through a bursting breath, ‘what do you think learning strategy has to do with...bravery?’ The question reminds me that he is my instructor, and I am supposed to learn something from this. A cloud passes over the moon, and the light shifts across my hands. ‘It...it prepares you to act,’ I say finally. ‘You learn strategy so you can use it.’ (Roth 2011, pp. 143–4) In this passage from Veronica Roth’s young adult (YA) novel Divergent (2011), protagonist Tris Prior is encouraged to make a connection between knowledge and action. More specifically, her instructor Tobias prompts Tris to articulate that strategy is necessary preparation for action. Implicit in this meta-teaching moment is an invitation for readers to embark with Tris on a journey that is exhilarating, but also instructive. Here Roth cues a generic feature of YA dystopian fiction: its function as a roadmap to agency. YA series such as Divergent (Roth 2011; 2012; 2013), The Hunger Games (Collins 2010a; 2010b; 2013), and The Maze Runner (Dashner 2010; 2011; 2013) all feature protagonists who move from inertia to action to engage with powerful enemies in a struggle for freedom and liberty. Given the genre’s overtly political concerns, this paper aims to consider what, if any, real-world empowerment might occur for readers who respond empathically to YA dystopian fiction. It explores how these texts might act as roadmaps to political agency and social activism, and asks whether—by mobilising readers’ affective responses—YA fiction might in fact immobilise young adults. In short, this paper examines whether there is there any evidence to suggest YA dystopian texts have the potential to empower a new generation of young adults to move from political inertia to action

What Offline and Online Technologies do Higher Education Students Use to Complete Assessment Tasks?

A Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is a system, usually self-constructed, that enables learners to manage their own learning and may include tools, services, online resources and communities. The aim of the project: to determine which technologies students use when they prepare, complete and submit assessment tasks such as assignments and examinations. The participants (n=39): 24 students from Edith Cowan University in WA and 15 students from Avondale in NSW. All students were undergraduate, on-campus students from Education and Arts courses, mainly female, most were aged between 20-24 years. Previous research has defined PLEs (Dabbagh & Kitsantas, (2012), especially in social constructivist contexts using learner-centred pedagogies (van Harmelen, 2008; Wild, Mdritscher, & Sigurdarson, 2008). Gosper et al. (2013; 2014) have outlined the use of technologies for learning in higher education in general. The methodology of the project used a mixed methods approach using a modification of Clark et al.’s (2009) methods: 1) online questionnaire; 2) focus group; and 3) mapping exercise. Students used a moderate range of formal (provided by the institution) and informal (student-selected) technologies that were used in social and individual contexts, but most technology use was informal. The range of locations in which technologies were used was wide, and reflected a high value placed on mobility and Wi-Fi connectivity

Higher Education Student\u27s Use of Technologies for Assessment Within Personal Learning Environments (PLEs)

Higher education students\u27 use of technologies has been documented over the years but their specific use of technologies for assessment-related tasks has yet to be fully investigated. Researchers at two higher education institutions recently conducted a study which sought to discover the technologies most commonly used by students within their Personal Learning Environments (PLEs). A specific aim of the study was to determine which of these technologies the students used when they complete and submit assessment tasks such as assignments and examinations. Results from questionnaires, focus groups and mapping exercises are reported and the implications of the findings for developing institutional infrastructure to engage students and support their learning are highlighted

Higher Education Student\u27s Use of Technologies for Assessment Within Personal Learning Environments (PLEs)

Higher education students\u27 use of technologies has been documented over the years but their specific use of technologies for assessment-related tasks has yet to be fully investigated. Researchers at two higher education institutions recently conducted a study which sought to discover the technologies most commonly used by students within their Personal Learning Environments (PLEs). A specific aim of the study was to determine which of these technologies the students used when they complete and submit assessment tasks such as assignments and examinations. Results from questionnaires, focus groups and mapping exercises are reported and the implications of the findings for developing institutional infrastructure to engage students and support their learning are highlighted