Unit VI discussion board

PEER GROUPS IN ACTION: A SAMPLE SESSION

Let’s take a look at one writing group in action to see the potential of this approach to writing. One student, Rebecca Jegier, worked collaboratively with three other students — Jasmine, Michaela, and Kevin — on a paper about the purpose of education and the extent to which school reforms reflect what she refers to as “a growing culture of impatience.” She explained to her group that she struggled to draw a parallel between what she sees as a worn-out factory model of education (students sitting in rows) and the story of Blockbuster, a once-successful movie rental business that failed to respond to customers’ changing needs. She also felt that she still needed to sharpen her argument.

Rebecca:	I think we are expected to argue what we think the purpose of education should be and to place our argument in the larger context of how others have defined the purpose historically.
Jasmine:	I am still trying to decide what I think the purpose of education should be. I sort of think that education should prepare people for a job, but we also read that article — you know, the one that said we may not even know what jobs will be available in ten years. The author wrote that schools should prepare people to be creative, innovative, critical thinkers. That other essay explained that school should help people flourish. I haven’t decided what that means.
Michaela:	I think the important thing we need to decide is the issue. I agree that schools don’t really prepare us to be very creative or innovative. I guess that’s the issue.

Rebecca restated her understanding of the assignment before giving Jasmine, Michaela, and Kevin a copy of her draft. This is a valuable starting point because a writer’s interpretation of the writing assignment — the task, the purpose, and the audience — helps readers understand why she is taking a particular approach. If readers disagree with the writer’s interpretation, they should discuss their differences before the writer shares the draft and determine an appropriate response to the assignment. Rebecca then read her paper aloud while her group members listened and wrote notes to indicate specific words, phrases, and ideas that they wanted to discuss.