Self-Authorship in Undergraduate Students in a Blended-Learning Multicultural Course

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Self-authorships provided the theoretical lens for this exploration of a blended learning multicultural course. Universities must help students develop a complex array of capacities to function effectively in today‘s interconnected world. Self-authorship provides a framework to analyze student development across three domains: cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal. Self-authorship development can be fostered through the use of the Learning Partnerships Model. This qualitative study used the theory of self-authorship to analyze interactions in the online discussion portion of one section of twenty-one students in a multicultural course at a rural Midwestern university. The course used dialogic principles in a blended learning environment, combining face-to-face interactions with an online platform which supported online journaling, a variety of resources including articles and videos, and an online discussion forum. Six students were interviewed to determine self-authorship development. Their interactions with classmates in the online discussion were analyzed. Some evidence of students‘ self-authorship development was found. Lack of facilitation in the online discussion appeared to have the potential to engender some resistance. A number of suggestions for course improvement could be made based on literature on dialogic principles, optimal online discussion formations and the Learning Partnerships Model.