STUDENT PERSPECTIVES ON THE VALUE OF TRAINING IN COLLABORATIVE WRITING

Innovative Methods and Practices of Academic Writing and Writing Instruction

STUDENT PERSPECTIVES ON THE VALUE OF TRAINING IN COLLABORATIVE WRITING

John O’Sullivan

Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands

Although collaborative writing assignments have increased in popularity, they remain subject to debate.

Discussion on co­writing seems to stem from either a product­orientated viewpoint, or a process­orientated approach. The product approach regards collaborative writing as a necessary competence for professional life.

The process approach is often rooted in the Vygotskyan vision; adherents argue that group learning fosters reflection, insight and improved development. There are, however, challenges to the value of collaborative writing. From a product framework, concerns exist over equitable assessment, freeloaders and student motivation. It is also argued that co­writing is a coping strategy for increased student numbers, rather than a didactic tool. From a process perspective, critics also argue that co­writing is an ineffective educational tool, the reality being that tasks are divided up and crudely pasted into a final collage. Several writers have commented that the student voice in this discussion has been insufficiently heard. To address whether we should include more group writing tasks within our own writing training curriculum, we investigated student perceptions of the benefit of collaborative writing tasks. A group of undergraduate biomedical sciences students was surveyed on their experience of collaborative writing: participation, assessment, and educational value. A second group, of Phd candidates currently active in writing for publication, was surveyed on i) their experience of co­writing publications and ii) their perceptions of whether they had received adequate training as undergraduates. The study will be completed in May; during the presentation results will be discussed in the context of the theoretical debate.

References

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