A case study explored the composing processes of two grade one students to determine the role of the computer as a learning tool in the first grade classroom. Analysis of the texts of the children's writing and transcriptions of the tape-recorded collaborative exercise in writing and computer use by the children revealed that young children, given…

Collaborative learning in the English classroom actively involves students in learning many useful applications of writing skills for use in future careers. In the work place, for instance, collaboration takes place regularly and group skills are of major importance. Job-related writing involves many forms of collaboration from the start of a…

In writing instruction, emphasis should be placed on developing a sense of a community, focusing on the social or collaborative view of writing. This view contends that writing is taught best as collaborative learning, with the classroom providing a social context in which students come together to develop their writing skills. In the…

In order to understand why the peer editing groups of freshman collaborative writing classes often fail, an investigation of the collaborative processes of basic and experienced writers was carried out at the University of Missouri (Kansas City). Observation of two freshman composition classes (both containing basic and advanced writers) revealed…

A case study about collaborative learning and collaborative writing examined what was taking place in classroom writing response groups. The study revealed how problematic college writing groups can be good for students. On the basis of observation and interviews with participants in three groups composed of undergraduates at a large state…

Two articles point out the importance of students' collaboration in the computer lab. The first describes two students' use of the word processor to write a story collaboratively. The second analyzes the dialogue of two students playing a computer game, showing that such games help students become better at planning and decision making. (ARH)

Argues, in a discussion of the benefits of collaborative writing, that teaching writing as a solitary activity belies actual experience and research pointing to it as a collaborative effort. Shows how to use peer response groups to introduce students to collaborative writing. (EL)

Writing, essentially a social act, is concerned with cognition and is allied to context. Most writing takes the form of dialogue and it is out of dialogic processes that language acquisition takes place. Writers and readers convene in the cognitive and social space that is at the heart of a discourse community. The social aspects of writing are…

Discusses collaborative hypermedia development for academic publishing in light of the availability of tools for authoring and disseminating hypermedia documents through the World Wide Web, CD-ROM, and other electronic formats. Topics include defining pedagogical objectives; role definitions of authors, editors, publishers, and software…

Analyzes the proposal-writing environment, the characteristics of proposals, and the practices of seven engineers at a Silicon Valley engineering firm that does government defense work. Finds that engineers write proposals collaboratively and have a highly structured composing process. Describes how the firm's Proposal Writing Center dramatically…

Describes how a shared poetry exercise, combining whole language experiences with process writing techniques, motivates remedial readers. Notes that this technique helps remedial readers achieve success in writing, build sight and meaning vocabularies, and improve reading fluency. (MM)

Describes the methods and means by which composition teachers can successfully create, train, and maintain writing groups (peer response groups, writing circles, or writing workshops) within the English classroom. (HB)

Describes the Partnership Story Project in which students from two countries participate in collaborative story writing projects. Suggests that the project increases intercultural understanding by aiding in recognition of subjective dimensions of culture. Includes a sample story from the project. (DK)

A biographical sketch of award-winning brothers Christopher and James Lincoln Collier discusses their early writing influences and research pursuits. In 1974 they began coauthoring novels of historical fiction for middle school readers. The profile describes their collaborating technique and their plots, which incorporate history of the American…

This article argues that "new literacies" is a useful construct for recognizing and understanding the extent to which changes in the current conjuncture are extending social practices of using codes for making and exchanging meanings in directions that warrant serious rethinking of how and why we research literacies. It provides a…