The Superficial Practice of Collaboration for Writing Proficiency in an "Underperforming" High School

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 33
  In Roundtable Session: Thinking Big Picture: Standards, Testing, and Language as Structuring Structures in Schools and Out-of-School Programs

Abstract

This study examined the how teachers of 9th and 10th grade English in an “underperforming” high school structured classroom student groups and collaborative learning focused on writing development. Specifically, we examined how students’ interactions with each other in collaborative learning affected their writing proficiency. Drawing on classroom observations, professional development and professional learning community observations, interviews, focus groups, artifacts, and standardized test scores, findings showed that attempts at collaborative learning were viewed either negatively or as ineffective by students and sometimes had detrimental effects on learning. As collaboration has been identified as a key skill for the 21st Century, it is important that teachers conceptualize what collaborative learning looks like when students write.

Authors

• Whitney Lynn Baker-Beach, Texas Tech University

• Mellinee K. Lesley, Texas Tech University

• Julie Smit, Texas Tech University