ENGL 2900: Methods for Teaching Writing

1. ENGL 2900: Methods for Teaching Writing The Collaborative Pedagogy

2. The Collaborative Pedagogy • Pedagogy: the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction.

3. The Collaborative Pedagogy • Collaborative pedagogy is a term used to describe classroom activities in which students work and learn together. • The term can describe activities such as 1 on 1 peer tutoring or group work

4. The Collaborative Pedagogy • “Collaborative Learning” is linked to the open door policies of universities in the 1970s. • The “individualistic” idea towards teaching did not work for the influx of “non-traditional” students into higher ed. • Cultivated the idea that students who worked together, learned together.

5. The Collaborative Pedagogy • Collaborative Activities has its pitfalls. What are they?

6. The Collaborative Pedagogy • Collaborative Activities has its pitfalls. What are they? • Requires greater monitoring on the part of the instructor • Instructions may need to be repeated several times • Students may be unwilling to share ideas • Counter-argues the romantic notion of the author as “hero” • The individual has sole ownership of the words and thoughts he/she produces • Collaborative learning considered by some to be a form of “plagiarism”

7. The Collaborative Pedagogy • Collaborative Learning has its advantages. What are they?

8. The Collaborative Pedagogy • Collaborative Learning has its advantages. What are they? - It is a way of engaging students more deeply in the text - Provides social context in which students can experience and practice interaction - It encourages the democratic process - Prepares students for work-place tasks - Focuses on the distribution of smaller responsibilities to achieve the greater goal - Legitimizes the idea that we all have something to contribute rather than the notion that only 1 person has knowledge

9. The Collaborative Pedagogy • Why resistance? • Some students may be resistant to collaborative work because many educational systems endorse a model of solitary authorship • They may be uncertain as to whether their classmates will accept them as co-authors • They may have a much higher opinion of their own writing "ability" than their classmates have.

10. The Collaborative Pedagogy • Whatever the cause of their resistance, most of these students will benefit from the collaborative assignment if: • they are given to understand how prevalent collaboration is in workplace writing • how much their "individual" writing will benefit from having worked in a group and having seen firsthand how others articulate and solve writing problems • how much more they can accomplish than if they were working alone – what Linda Hughes and Michael Lund call "a union that is greater than the . . . parts that composed it".

11. The Collaborative Pedagogy • Group Discussions • Teacher should act as facilitator rather than judge • Discussion questions should have a “variety” of correct answers • Have students listen to responses and create new questions from the responses • Seek student permission • Groups should know their objectives • Involve all students

12. The Collaborative Pedagogy • 3 Types of Collaborative Tasks: • Labor Intensive tasks that need to be divided into smaller subtasks in order to be accomplished effectively and efficiently • Specialization Tasks that call for multiple areas of expertise • Synthesis Tasks that demand that divergent perspectives be brought together into a solution acceptable to the whole group or an outside group.

13. The Collaborative Pedagogy • Collaborative Writing Activities • Maybe announced and distributed early, but should not be started until a substantial portion of the term has passed. • Resolve interpersonal tensions early • Collaborative writing assignment should be one that is best accomplished by a group rather than an individual • Set a time limit • Make all students accountable

14. The Collaborative Pedagogy • Divide into small groups of about 5 people per group • Collectively, select an object or item that you think your parents might object to you having. • Make a list of pros identifying the benefits to you and your parents if your were to own the object/item • Make a list of cons identifying the pitfalls to you and your parents if your were to own the object/item. • Write a letter (1 letter per group) to your parents highlighting the advantages while downplaying the disadvantages. Be sure to address one of your cons (probably the most influential) and present a counterargument that might reduce the concern.