On "Collaborative Pedagogy"

Having always thought of my writing as a personal, solitary exercise, I must say, the thought of sharing that actual process with others makes me a little uncomfortable. But, as someone who views literature from a rather New Historicist perspective, I do believe that what is ultimately manifested on the page is a result of many influences.

In an essay on "Collaborative Pedagogy", Rebecca Moore Howard considers the differences between collaborative learning and collaborative writing with regards to writing centers. As a tutor in a college writing center, it didn't take long to realize that most students, (no matter what level of writing skills they possessed), were simply looking for someone to proofread what they had written. That is, they wanted someone else to dot their "i's," cross their "t's," and make sure all the commas were in the right place. Often, they wanted to know if their paper "flowed". But, if I did my job properly, rather than simply spell-check papers, I was able to help someone discover ways to make the writing, (and perhaps the experience of writing,) less tedious and more adventurous. Did I tell them what to write? Of, course not. And, most certainly, I didn't write for them. Hopefully, I gave them something that they will use in countless more writing tasks. Is this collaborative writing? According to Howard, there are some who are concerned that it might be. However, I see collaborative writing as when two or more people come together with the intention of creating one work, such as The Gilded Age by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner. (Though, most people have never heard of Mr. Warner.)

As a student, I find that collaborative learning, such as small-group discussions, can be potentially very helpful. I personally enjoy discussing literature with other people who are learning the same things that I am; particularly on the graduate level when our subjects and focuses become narrower, and more specific. (However, I'm not sure I felt the same way when I was learning how to graph line equations in math class.) I, in fact, decided upon my thesis subject through conversations with a colleague about our mutual interest in writers from New Orleans. I learn a lot in our discussions about his Louisiana home, and comparisons between his writer/subject and my own. Does that make my thesis (or his) a collaboration? Absolutely not. But, it does help to make the research feel alive, significant and worth the effort. And, that in turn, might help make my paper “flow”.