Collaboration: Student Writers
Amy Spencer
Yeah, I like collaborative collage better than just a group of six people working on putting a paper together where it sounds like it's all written by one person or by one group instead of different people each with their own with ideas.

Spencer
Nobody's watching your child, because they're just going to have to go home and be by themselves. And they may be too young to do that. Then I don't think that's too right either. You know what I mean?

Garrett Nutt
So what's interesting here, what's interesting here in our conversation, like, this is probably the pace, like I'm saying one side and then you're saying the other.

Spencer
We just had this very short instruction that said, read through all these different things and put 'em together and off you go, go ahead. And so we kind of looked at each other and said, OK, what now. But what we decided, was, you kind of read through some and pick out sentences or paragraphs that really leap out at you, you know. I think one great thing about this collaborative collage is if you write enough, you're going to have at least one really good sentence in your paper, no matter who you are.

Nutt [READING]
Don't get me wrong, I despise welfare. But I am just letting everybody know that we are not all low-life scum of the earth, freeloaders that do not give a damn about life or society.

Nutt
But I think, let me say why I think that goes good where it is. We haven't had many really juicy, emotional, intuitive pages. And this is, and it's, first, a primary source. She has experienced it herself and she's saying what it feels like to her.

Spencer
You get enough people together that are all doing that and you pick out the powerful sentence or paragraph from each one, you're going to have…potentially a paper that's going to give people heart attacks when they read it. "Oh my gawd, yes, yes!" you know? That's something that even the best writer couldn't do on his own. You couldn't pack that much punch into every single sentence.

Beverly Moss
So not only do they have to learn how to write with a group, they've got to learn how to negotiate in a group. As part of the planning, as part of the drafting, as part of carrying out the project. But I don't think they see that right away. So I think one of the values, of course, in collaborative work, is the whole idea of negotiating. And they don't understand that the boss isn't going to ask if Sally did her part of the project. They're going to look at the project. And Sally's part better be done by somebody, if it doesn't get done.

Chitra Divakaruni
I don't start grading the collaborative projects until late in the quarter. And by then, students have already formed their groups. I always leave the groups very open, they can move around, they can work with new people anytime they want. But generally what I find is that early in the quarter, groups will gel, students like working with certain students. And if there's a problem, I set it up so that they can always come and speak to me individually or the whole group together. Then we try to work through problems. Sometimes people's working styles are just very different. And they need to be in a group where they feel more comfortable with the working style.

Robb Lightfoot
It is possible in the classroom through collaborative learning, to have moments that change people forever, in ways that give 'em confidence, that bond them to one another, you know. I don't tell people you're going to come out of this class finding the person you'll marry in here. But I generally predict that in situations where people work together, not only will they produce a superior product, they will also come away with friendships and associations that will last them a lifetime. And I mean, what a deal. All for the price of a college education.