This paper explores the feature of dynamicity (a composite of temporal and local properties) in research on collaborative digital writing (CDW) in academic writing assignments. The paper traces the ways in which current research typically approaches CDW and identifies the underlying elements of current and technological inquiry in this field:…

In this article, we argue that using students' reflective writing to understand specific aspects of their classroom experience requires that researchers systematically integrate into the curriculum reflections that responsibly attend to both students' learning and the focus of classroom research. Informed by recently published articles on…

This study investigates an elective English class, in which students in grades 10-12 collectively read and collaboratively wrote fantasy fiction in four groups. The purpose of the class was to have students consider the choices fantasy and science fictions writers, directors, and video game designers make when creating a fictional world. The…

A study examined the role of critical reflection in one particular writing context--that of collaborative planning. Subjects, 22 college freshmen enrolled in two core composition courses, were audiotaped as they planned course papers with a peer. Students formed pairs each consisting of a "writer" and a "partner" (supporter).…

Reports on the results of survey research designed to determine how students feel about peer assistance and group writing. Finds that results were generally favorable, although more problems surfaced regarding collaborative projects than peer criticism. States that statistical analysis of objective and open-ended items yielded suggestions for…

Describes the recent integration of a critical pedagogy within the field of composition studies, especially regarding collaborative learning and difference. Discusses one writing class and how collaborative groups negotiated their differences. Shows how issues of difference affected or created problems within groups. (HB)

Considers institutional structures within the academy which suppress collaborative relationships and scholarship. Examines the discourses and practices of selected conventions of graduate level schooling, primarily at the University of Arizona. (HB)

Describes how students in three college-level writing groups viewed their collaborative learning experience. Suggests that collaborative learning works (or does not work) in complex ways that cannot be reduced to a field manual of identifying behaviors. (RS)

Reports on a study that examines the planning and revising of ninth-grade coauthors to determine how collaborative writing socializes and impacts the writing process. Finds that the students' writing processes tended to resemble those of more expert writers--planning, composing, and revising collapsed into a truly recursive process. (TB)

Describes a classroom study which found that mixed-sex collaborative writing pairs can be used effectively in the classroom to help students bridge the gender gap in their own writing. (SR)

Discusses the social nature of collaborative writing and describes collaborative writing in the workplace and the classroom. Discusses the kinds of computer-supported technology available to support such collaboration, and associated problems. Notes research questions needing to be addressed for the next decade of computer-supported collaborative…

Observes collaborative activities in three writing classes. Offers two ethnographic reports: one illustrating the tension felt by the instructors as a result of stalled collaboration; the other demonstrating a more successful collaborative sequence. Concludes that once the instructors learned to think collaboratively, they began wholly to redesign…

Describes how a university professor collaborated with a ninth-grade English teacher in a research project aimed at studying the collaborative writing processes of the students. Analyzes the various collaborative writing processes of the students, including audience awareness, planning, and revising. (HB)

A 1991 survey questioned 61 teachers on the ways they were using collaborative learning to teach composition. Comparisons with a 1988 survey showed that the biggest increase was in the use of collaborative drafting strategies. Increases also occurred in focusing, prewriting, and editing, and there were slight decreases in revision and…

The commonest context for the use of word processors with primary school children is collaborative small group work. The two major reasons for this organizational decision are resource-based (i.e. due to the scarcity of computers in the classroom) and educational, stemming from an increased use of cooperative learning methods. In order to improve…