collaborative writing

Problem-centred tasks

Participating in an online writing project in pairs or small groups

Writing a story

Writing a reflection about a school trip/event

Writing a research report on a given/chosen topic

Writing a blog post on a given/chosen topic

Contributing to a class wiki

Creating step-by-step instructions

Creating a multimodal text

Scaffolding activities

#1 Working together

Students explore the idea of collaborative writing and they identify/generate a list of 'Do's' and 'Don'ts' of behaviour in group work (e.g. unequal contribution, duplicating efforts, meeting the deadlines, communication). They generate and present a list of strategies to deal with 'Don'ts'.

#2 Brainstorming

Students brainstorm ideas for a collaborative text. If required, guiding questions can be used. The students create an outline of the text.

#3 Roles

Students decide on the roles for each participant. They identify the ways to make each participant's contribution visible in the text (e.g. using different colours).

#4 Navigating a platform

Students learn how to navigate a digital platform for collaboration suggested by the teacher (e.g. Google doc, Moodle or others).

#5 Writing

Students plan and create their texts. They consider the context, audience and purpose and how these shape the content, language,

structure and presentation of their work. They collect relevant resources for writing if needed (e.g. a research project).

#6 Peer review

Students explore the idea of 'peer review'. They learn how to provide constructive feedback and negotiate in the discussion. They revise their drafts accordingly.

#7 One voice

Students review their collaborative texts as a group to achieve 'one voice' in their writing.

#8 Reflection and peer-evaluation of group work

Students reflect on the process of collaborative writing (e.g. what went well, main challenges, strategies for improvement). The task may involve anonymous peer-evaluation of group work for further reflection.

Collaborative writing

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