I conducted this inquiry guided by three propositions:
P1. All students come to class with a blended set of experiences and knowledge
that positively contributes to the learning environment.
P2. The use of a theoretical research perspective that seeks to facilitate the
identification of student strengths and successful leadership experiences can
be embedded in blogging.
P3. The public sharing of highpoint stories describing strengths and successful
leadership experiences positively affects the classroom-learning environment.
Web 2.0
integration into
the classroom
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I recognize two limitations to this study:
(1) The generalizability of the results of this study is limited and left for
interpretation by the reader.
(2) The nature of the appreciative exploration that guided this study focused solely
on student strengths and successful leadership experiences.
Throughout the remainder of this paper, I use the term appreciative blogs to signify the
direction of conversations encouraged by the blog postings. I framed the appreciative
blogs with two broad themes: reflections on self and reflections on another. The
following is an example of the type of AI questions guiding the students on personal
reflection.
Taking an AI perspective, recall a time when YOU overcame a significant challenge
and turned adversity around on its heel. What were the circumstances? Who was
involved? What did you learn from your experience? How can you apply what you
learned to your work context?
The following is an example of the type of AI questions guiding the students on
reflection on the responses of another:
Can you recall a person from your personal or professional experience who persisted
in spite of obstacles? What were the challenges this person faced? How did s/he
overcome these challenges? What examples did this person set for you and others?