Recently, I have
been considering the usefulness of collaborative writing in the classroom. I am
in an English composition class this semester that focuses on the concepts of
teaching writing. Earlier this month, we read an excerpt from Invention as a Social Act by Karen Burke LeFevre. Her studies in writing and
rhetoric align with one of the collaborative writing lessons I used in my
middle school classroom last week. Surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly,
it was the most successful lesson I taught.
Prior to reading
this article I never considered that there could be a debate between individual
and collaborative writing within in the classroom, but while reading it, I was
able to use my own experiences to easily connect with what LeFevre was saying.
Throughout
elementary and middle school, I, as a student, was exposed to many writing
activities that usually required individual thought and reflection as apposed
to collaboration. Specifically, I remember many writing diagrams that I was
responsible for completing individually and then using those diagrams to create
my own rough draft or final essay. Now, considering what LaFevre says, I
believe it seems silly to reserve so much class time for individual writing
without reserving time for reflection or discussion.
I understand the
premise that “social intercourse necessarily destroys the philosophic act”
(LaFevre 11). However, I do believe that the classroom is a social environment
and when activities are correctly implemented and developed by a teacher,
collaboration leads to further and higher thinking that ultimately helps
students produce better writing.
In her
conclusion, LaFevre states, “One invents in part because of others, because one
thinks fruitfully in the company of a great many others, who are both possible
and real” (93). I agree with this theory and believe it is up to the teacher to
create meaningful and beneficial lessons that help students learn and grow by
sharing their ideas.
For example, I
participated in multiple Socratic seminars and I have seen them used in
classrooms during my student teaching experience. I find them to be an
effective literacy strategy that prompts students to deliberate on their
opinions and stances on important issues and assists them in making sense of
their own thoughts through cooperative dialogue. As a teacher, I would use this
practice and perhaps have my students develop their own writing prompt from the
seminar based on their thoughts and the thoughtful contributions of their
classmates.
Also, I have
seen a Kagen structure called Numbered Heads Together and I am a fan of this
because it finds a balance between individual and group writing. The students
are given a question or writing prompt and then once they have had time to reflect
and write individually, they separate into groups of four to compare answers,
and then they use their individual thoughts to create a collaborative answer
that they present to the rest of the class.
Furthermore, I
have seen collaborative writing bring a new motivation for engagement in the
classroom. As I mentioned earlier, the collaborative writing lesson I used did
wonders in my classroom. Considering I teach a first hour class, my students
are often sleepy and slow to participate. So, to try something different, I started
my final lesson of the week with a collaborative writing activity. Students
each started with a different two sentence scary story prompt. They were given
two minutes to contribute their own thoughts on how the story continued, and
then they passed it clockwise to another students so he/she could continue the
story. This process was repeated until each student received his or her
original prompt again.
The loved
sharing their creative ideas with one another! They were attentive and partook
in the activity more than any prior activities. They were learning and I was so
glad to present something that would make writing more fun. I owe a big thank
you to my College of Education peer, Sarah Brill. We are placed at the same
school and we spent the week planning together, so this lesson was her idea and
it was beyond impressive. I now have a list of other collaborative writing
lessons I can use thanks to her creativity.
In closing, the
balance of individualism and collaboration is what I believe to be important in
the writing process and finding a balance between the two is vital. As a
teacher, it will be my responsibility to ensure my students are producing
writing that reflects who they are as an individual, but writing that also
shows a growth or progression in their thoughts that stemmed from class
discussion or cooperation, as well as writing that is FUN and appealing to
students.
Resources:
LeFevre, Karen Burke.
"A Platonic View of Rhetorical Invention." Invention as a Social Act.
1st ed. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1986. 10-95. Print. Studies in
Writing and Rhetoric.
