“With Tension Comes a Little Work”

Abstract

“‘With Tension Comes a Little Work': Motivation and Safety in Online Peer Review” investigates whether the infringement of privacy inherent in using semi-public Web 2.0 platforms disrupts students' sense of safety. Grounded in the work of composition theorist Peter Elbow, this study offers a qualitative study using a questionnaire and focus group interviews to report on the experiences of 33 students using Google Drive in a freshman writing class. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that students need to feel safe in order to learn, the study finds that some discomfort contributed to student motivation and that too much comfort actually decreased motivation.