Davis, Justin Daniel, authorJennings, Louise, advisorBirmingham, Daniel, committee memberBrinks, Ellen, committee memberTimpson, William, committee member2019-06-142019-06-142019https://hdl.handle.net/10217/195401While student engagement has long been acknowledged as important in the learning process in scholarship, the concept of engagement has just recently shifted from an idea of passive compliance to overt interest. Much of the research continues to focus on largely cognitive aspects of engagement such as higher level thinking processes, taxonomies, and rigor. While cognitive engagement is important, far less attention has focused on affective, or emotional, engagement. The researcher seeks to capture personal student experiences around engagement and analyze participant responses for possible themes to examine the potentially positive impacts and possible constraints of using the horror genre as a means to apply a proposed Affective Learning Framework in order to effectively and holistically engage students. The Affective Learning Framework consisted of four key domains: Relevancy/Connectedness, Interest/Autonomy, Hook/Controversy, and a Positive Learning Environment. Broadly, the purpose of this research is to capture the insights and voices of secondary students around using horror as a means to emotionally engage them in literacy and relevant real-world issues in an after-school horror literature club in an effort to battle feelings of boredom and disconnectedness that students often experience in the classroom. It examines horror as a potentially powerful teaching tool in secondary and post-secondary settings. As a qualitative study, the analysis of open-ended survey questions, transcribed dialogue, and interviews resulted in a thematic analysis case study in order to detail the potential of emerging or common themes as they related to the application of the Affective Learning Framework. As student voice is often lacking in the literature about what they feel about engagement, and this was a primary driver for the purpose of this study, student voice is a critical aspect of this research. The study also addresses meaningful implementation of the horror genre into reading and writing, with further implications around the use of subgenres and how this work may fit into the general classroom setting through the Affective Learning Framework.born digitaldoctoral dissertationsengCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.affective learning frameworkemotional learningstudent engagementcognitiveaffectivehorrorText