Project+Summary

__Project Summary__

The rationale for the project changed a few times during the course of its creation. We originally wanted to work exclusively with the writer’s workshop. We wanted to know: what it is? and how does it work? We managed to answer these questions relatively quickly, but there was a part of the project that seemed to be missing while we were researching: the “group” aspect of group work. We decided to add another level to our original inquiry and figure out how to get the best out of our groups of students while working in the writer’s workshop setting.

Most of the research was done searching through scholarly articles on JSTOR. What was interesting is that a few of the articles that were found were not written about high school students, but groups in both school and work settings. By using these articles, we were able to apply and adapt the ideas found within to a high school writer’s workshop setting. We learned that, in a well-structured classroom, students were able to gain more when it came to writing than they were previously in a strictly teacher-driven lecture.

Some suggested writer’s workshop activities:

Poetry Slam: This activity is for two or more people. Choose a person whose writing is like your own or a person who writes in a totally different style for different outcomes. Write down "seeds" on strips of paper. These are ideas that you and your partner feel would be challenging or fun to write about. Some "seeds" can be: the sunrise, spring rain, or places you know. They can also be very specific, like: a memory you shared, or the smell on the first day of winter. Put all of your seeds into a hat and both you and your partner should pull one out. Once you have one, write a line of poetry that best expresses your feelings or associations with the idea. Your partner should write their own line about their own seed. Then switch, and write a line on what they already wrote. Continue switching and writing until desired length. See how your poems turn out at the end.

Newspaper Editorial: Break up the class into small groups and give each group an article from a recent edition of the local newspaper. After reading the article, have students discuss questions or opinions they have on the article. Each student will then write a letter to the editor in which they address some of the things brainstormed in the group. Allow the group to choose the best letter and send it off.

__Works Cited: __

Darling-Hammond, Linda, Jacquline Ancess, and Susanna Ort. "Reinventing High School: Outcomes of the Coalition Campus Schools Project." American Educational Research Journal 39.3 (2002): 639-673. JSTOR. Database. 15 Apr 2012.

Hassel, Holly, and Jessica Lourey. "The Dea(r)th of Student Responsibility." College Teaching 53.1 (2005): 2-13. JSTOR. Database. 15 Apr 2012.

Mallow, Jeffry. "Student Group Project Work: A Pioneering Experiment in Interactive Engagement." Journal of Science Education and Technology 10.2 (2001): 105-113. JSTOR. Database. 15 Apr 2012.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Roberts, Tom, Paul Cheney, Paul Sweeney, and Ross Hightower. "The Effects of Information <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Technology Project Complexity on Group Interaction." Journal of Management Information Systems 21.3 2004/2005. 223-247. JSTOR. Database. 15 Apr 2012.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wong, Sze-Sze. "Distal and Local Group Learning: Performance Trade-Offs and Tensions." <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Organization Science 15.6 (2004): 645-656. JSTOR. Database. 15 Apr 2012.