SUPPORTING COLLABORATION COLLABORATION IN THE WRITING STUDIO TRAINING ANGELA SHAW-THORNBURG

FUNDAMENTALS Explicitly state the importance of collaboration and highlight it when it has occurred spontaneously or as the result of structure Redirect and ask questions that require critical thought to other learners Give learners the chance to respond to questions (wait time, at least 30 seconds) Protect learners from interruption Identify and subvert group homogeneity

COLLABORATION: MORE IS BETTER THAN ONE Leads to better outcomes Improves outcomes for weaker students, especially in mixed ability groups Allows stronger students to consolidate and share knowledge Makes learners less dependent on teachers and tutors for their learning

DIRECTING DISCUSSION BACK TO THE GROUP Avoid the trap of falling into answering direct questions for your students. Use actions verbs distributed along all levels of Bloom’s taxonomy to redirect questions: “Who knows the answer to that question?”--KNOWLEDGE “Who can tell us where to find the answer to that question?”--COMPREHENSION “Would someone else demonstrate how you go about integrating that quotation?--APPLICATION “Where would you categorize this sentence type?”--ANALYSIS “Someone else compose a topic sentence that would work for this paragraph”--SYNTHESIS “Someone else please rate how effective that thesis statement is”-- EVALUATION

WAIT-TIME Essential for allowing students time to process questions, especially higher order questions Students come up with better answers when given more time to think. 2-7 seconds for lower order questions (factual, yes/no) As much as 30 seconds before prompting for questions that may require some thought. Avoid asking numerous questions in succession: everyone needs time to formulate answers. Practice 1 | Practice 2 |

STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH INTERRUPTION Setting expectations: explain during orientation that the goal is to be respectful by allowing others to have a voice. Provide verbal cues to change the behavior of learners who interrupt others: “[Name of interrupting student], I’d love to hear what you have to say once [interrupted student] finishes his or her thought.” Provide nonverbal cues (making eye contact with the person interrupted or not making eye contact with a person dominating the discussion or interrupting others) to improve behavior Re-direct discussion to the interrupted learner (“What were you going to say [name of interrupted student]?” Private discussion: explain one-on-one that while enthusiasm is great, interrupting is having a negative impact on collaboration in the group.

HOMOGENEITY: DIFFERENCE IS A GOOD THING Women are less likely to participate in groups that are dominated by one gender (male or female)(Lai, 2011) Lower-ability students benefit the most when groups include a mix of abilities (Lai, 2011) Benefits of mixed ability groups persist for lower ability students even after the collaboration ends (Lai, 2011) CONCLUSION: MIX IT UP!