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| English
ain't a team sport, is it?! (An Introduction):
Collaborative learning is becoming more common in education each year.
While seemingly a new phenomenon in classrooms, and one that is gaining
in popularity, society has been using the process for years.
Reading groups and book clubs have a long history of reading and discussing
novels, stories and poetry with others, increasing the understanding and
enjoyment of all members. A huge amount of writing done outside of
the classroom is done collaboratively; grant proposals, committee reports,
instructions, presentations and other workplace writing is often done with
a partner or in a group. By increasing the use of collaborative learning
in schools, educators are better preparing students to function in society.
The focus of this research and analysis is collaborative writing and how working with others affects writing. Collaborative writing is defined by one instructor as "co-authoring where there is value placed on multiple voices and shared goals in all aspects of planning, researching , drafting." Another instructor defines it as "a writing experience involving participation of all member in all stages of the writing; however, this does not suggest that some specific tasks cannot be assigned to each member in accordance with his or her individual strengths." Writing in groups not only helps to prepare students for the workplace, it helps them to better understand their own writing process and exposes them to many different ideas and perspectives. These essays explore how collaborative writing works, why it is beneficial in the classroom and how it affects writers. Anita Beaman argues for the use of collaborative writing in K-12 classrooms and describes the advantages it offers to developing writers in her essay, Collaborative Writing K-12. Wei Gao's essay, Collaborative Colleges, discusses the pros and cons of collaborative writing in the college writing classroom. She examines collaborative writing as preparation for the job force that students enter after graduation. Because of the increase in collaborative writing assignments, college writing centers have discovered a need to reevaluate tutoring strategies and practices when working with groups of students. Brian Langford shares his research findings and tutoring techniques/experiences in Collaborative Writing and the Writing Tutor: Controlled Chaos in the Writing Center. Key Word Definitions Authentic learning: knowledge, thought processes, practices, and procedures learned in the classroom that are applied to everyday life Conscience collective: a decision-making group within a culture that maintains the culture's structures, identity, and knowledge base Collaborative learning: the act of acquiring new knowledge or insight through close, cooperative work with a group of people Collaborative writing: coauthoring where there is value placed on multiple voices and shared goals in all aspects of planning, researching , and drafting. Kidspeak: a student's way of translating teachers'/tutors' explanations to other students using a slight variation in words to make the topic more understandable to peers Discourse Community: a group of people who "speak the same language," people who have common knowledge and modes of discussion concerning their profession/topic Group work: Students work together in groups on individual projects with a related theme. Each member has the same knowledge and is able to challenge or prod the thought processes of other group members while doing separate work. Peer editing: Students research, brainstorm, and compose papers independently. Work is shared only when it has reached the revision stage, where students share constructive criticism and assist in the editing of writing tasks. Social Constructionist: one who believes that thought (therefore, learning) originates in the social processof communication among people who "speak the same language" Support community: a transition group approximating some of the conventions, values, traditions, interests, and goals of the community a person is leaving and the community a person hopes to join, a group formed to assist people moving from one discourse community to another |
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