2. Co-constructingKnowledge
“It is through discursive interactions that knowledge is co-
constructed and meanings are negotiated and re-negotiated…”
(Wertsch, 1991)
- negotiating meaning with others
- Mercer’s concept of “interthinking”
- Alexander’s concept of ‘Exploratory Talk’
3. TheOriginalPeerEditingTask
- students were given:
- draft of another student’s work
- peer editing checklist
- 40’ = writing comments and completing checklist
individually
- 5-10’ = returning papers and brief time for explanations
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Total Dialogue: 5-10’
4. Potential Issues
- student motivation - why spend time giving other
student’s feedback?
- acceptance of peer advice - why trust the opinions of
peers?
- quality of feedback
- often feedback was shallow
- students may have provided inaccurate corrections
- often didn’t have time to elaborate
5. PeerEditingRedesign
- students were given:
- draft of another student’s work (via Google Docs)
- peer editing checklist
- 50’+ = writing comments, making edits and completing
checklist individually asynchronously
- 50’ per paper = discussing comments and resolving issues
together at a shared computer
- Total Time per essay: 100 minutes
6. TheWholeProcess
Outlines Google Docs Asynchronously (Home) Independently
Teacher Feedback Google Docs Asynchronously (Home) Independently
Conferencing &
First Draft
Google Docs Synchronously (Computer
Lab; 1-2 hours)
Teacher Intervention
Finish First Draft Google Docs Asynchronously (Home) Independently w/
access to teacher
support
Peer Editing
Comments
Google Docs Asynchronously (Home) Independently
Peer Revision Google Docs Synchronously (Computer
Lab)
Collaboratively
Final Revision Google Docs Asynchronously (Home) Independently
8. GoogleDocs
- drafts were shared with Peer Editors as “Comment” access
- Peer Editors were asked to do two things:
- Add comments to highlight areas of content that could be improved
- Make in-line edits for grammatical or lexical changes using
“Suggesting Mode”
9. PeerEditingas‘Interthinking’
- students are given control of own learning while still
being supported
- peer editing process mirrors teacher feedback; becomes part of the
process
- time to develop shared understanding of writing concepts,
problems and solutions
- focus on the process of learning rather than the product
- learning as interaction:
talking is not a skill, but “...something that students and teachers
together do in order to learn” (Alexander, 2000)
10. Potential Solutions?
- PROBLEM: student motivation
SOLUTION: a participatory culture has been created
- PROBLEM: acceptance of peer advice
SOLUTION: students have the opportunity to explore
feedback together and negotiation solutions to problems
- PROBLEM: quality of feedback
SOLUTION: modelling and teacher scaffolding helped
developed peer editing skills; teacher could intervene as
necessary
