ENGL 2900: Methods for Teaching
Writing
The Collaborative Pedagogy
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.
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
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.
The Collaborative Pedagogy
 Collaborative Activities has its pitfalls. What are they?
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”
The Collaborative Pedagogy
 Collaborative Learning has its advantages. What are they?
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
The Collaborative Pedagogy
 Why resistance?
Some students may be resistant to collaborative work because
many educational systems endorse a model of solitary
authorship
2. They may be uncertain as to whether their classmates will
accept them as co-authors
3. They may have a much higher opinion of their own writing
"ability" than their classmates have.
1.
The Collaborative Pedagogy
 Whatever the cause of their resistance, most of these students
will benefit from the collaborative assignment if:
A. they are given to understand how prevalent collaboration is in
workplace writing
B. how much their "individual" writing will benefit from having
worked in a group and having seen firsthand how others
articulate and solve writing problems
C. 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".
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
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
2. Specialization Tasks that call for multiple areas of expertise
3. Synthesis Tasks that demand that divergent perspectives be
brought together into a solution acceptable to the whole
group or an outside group.
1.
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
The Collaborative Pedagogy
 Divide into small groups of about 5 people per group
1.
2.
3.
4.
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.