Michael Ayers, AP Language teacher, has finished writing his 230 page dissertation in order to receive his Doctorate. Ayers began writing his dissertation during the fall of 2008.

Ayers wrote his dissertation about using blogs and other social media with high school students in Language Arts classes.  Ayers assigns his AP Language and Composition students to write blogs about anything they choose. He was interested in finding out how students react when strangers comment on their work. “If the kids write something and I am the only one reading it and responding I may not have anything interesting to say in response,” Ayers said. Ayers believes that if a stranger comments on ones work it might make that person more motivated to write.

Though Ayers has finished writing his Dissertation he still has to have a dissertation defense. Ayers will send his Dissertation to five professors to review it, once they have all finished reading his dissertation, Ayers will discuss his work with his professors. “ Four of them are professors at the University of Iowa, one of them is at Penn State University, so it’s a great opportunity to have five scholars sit around and talk to you about a thing that you did,” Ayers explained.

Ayers still plans to be an AP Language teacher. “ I enjoy what I do and the goal of this for me was never to then get the degree, and leave, and become a college professor,” Ayers said