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Why assign collaborative writing? Slide 2 Why do it? It provides a modest reduction of the amount of grading It provides students an example of group interaction It mimics most workplace writing It improves students abilities to learn subject matter, especially those who havent succeeded in more traditional classroom environments & reduces students sense of alienation It improves the overall quality of student writing Slide 3 Will it.. ? Do collaborative writing assignments really mean less work for the instructor? Probably not: It requires a lot more set-up and modeling up front Says collaborative guru Ken Bruffee: Organizing collaborative learning effectively requires doing more than throwing students together with their peers with little or no guidance or preparation. To do that is merely to perpetuatethe many possible negative efforts of peer group influence: conformity, anti-intellectualism, intimidation, and a leveling down of quality. Slide 4 Will it.. ? Do collaborative projects really help students learn about group dynamics in ways they couldnt in a normal classroom? Perhaps, but: If this is something you want students to analyze in an academic manner (not just its hard to get along and agree with other people), it should be a primary focus. If its a primary focusas it might be in a psychology coursethe group dynamics themselves should be a topic of discussion and/or the topic of a subsequent paper. (Robert Miller) Slide 5 Does it ? Do collaborative projects really mimic most workplace writing? Perhaps: Much workplace writingin journalism, public policy, technical writing, non-profit management, advertisingis collaborative. But: Most workplace writing is collaborative with hierarchies. In journalism, there is usually an editor- reporter relationship; in business, generally a project manager-writer relationship. Collaborative learning in classroom generally works without these rigid roles. Slide 6 Does it.. ? Does collaborative learning really improve students abilities to learn subject matter, especially those who havent succeed in the more traditional classroom? Does it reduce students feelings of alienation? Probably: Students who have a hard time learning solely from the student-teacher relationship may have an easier time learning with the help of their peers. Probably: Collaborative learning provides additional motivations to learn. Probably: Collaboration have alleviated some of Daves problems in Introduction to Poetry. But: Collaborative learning calls for new skills and processes that must be modeled and learned. Slide 7 Will it... ? Will collaborative writing really improve the overall quality of student writing? Probably: Collaborative papers are sometimes or often far better than what one student does on his or her own. But: Sometimes, they are far worseMiller says that the group of his best writers turned in the worst paper. But: One of the possible effects of collaborative writingespecially when it isnt set up well from the startis inconsistent voice, poor organization, and, as Bruffee says, conformity, anti-intellectualismand a leveling down of quality. Slide 8 Pitfalls & Stumbling Blocks How to grade (Its not my fault!) Too many cooks (It doesnt fit together.) Introverts can get left behind (No one listened.) Too few cooks (I did all the work.) Remembering group decisions (People forget and go off in their own directions.) Scheduling (Scheduling!) Groups with dissimilar interests (We couldnt even agree on a topic.) Other group problems (I was working with a complete moron!) Slide 9 Theorists Suggestions Dont begin collaborative writing assignments right awaybut do start learning collaboratively from the first day Collaborative assignment should be something better accomplished by a group than by an individual Allow student-initiated collaboration Let the class decide how groups will be constituted Give groups flexibility to decide their methods and timetables, but require that they commit them to writing Explain in advance how the project will be graded ideally, ask for students input Give student groups real purposes and real freedom Make it funplay can be an additional source of motivation Slide 10 Interviewees Suggestions The larger they are, the harder they falloften, the groups that do best are twos and threes Projects should connect to how a given discourse works in the real world Project should require a lot of thought and discussion Assignments often work best when group members can divide work into distinct chunksbut not too many specific components. Dont make it too large or complexToo much work for too many students will totally bring down the quality of the project. Assignments with low stakes work besta smaller portion of the grade + more fun/play Assignments that allow creativity are a plus Slide 11 Questions Have you had a successful collaborative- writing experience, as an instructor or as a student? How would you do it differently now? Is there a difference between cut-and- paste and real collaboration?