Peer review and nuanced power structures: Writing and learning within the age of connectivism

Abstract

Through a Foucauldian lens, this article examines the affordances and constraints of an online peer-review program in four special education English language arts classes in two New York City middle schools. Data from classroom observations, teacher interviews, and online student spaces and artifacts provide insight into the technologies of power that ultimately supported the emergence of students' voices. The negotiated and disrupted power structures within the online writing space are central to the discussion of paradigmatic shifts and flexible student-driven learning opportunities.