I really liked Bruffee’s discussion of collaborative learning. The idea that our capacity for reflective thought is based on our ability to engage in effective discourse with others rings true to personal experience. As an introvert, my natural inclination is to be secretive about my writing. Also, I know that a paper I write by myself will probably be a decent paper. However, over the years I have learned that—sometimes— I miss the mark. Sometimes I REALLY miss it. Like everyone else, there are just limitations to the way I perceive things. I’ve learned that my papers and my opinions in general are almost always more sound and considered after I talk them over with peers.
Bruffee's sense of knowledge and authority as social artifacts is also liberating. When a student is part of a community that learns by collaboration, she is an active contributor to the “knowledge community” (555). This is much more stimulating than being a passive recipient of facts and figures. I submit that we all might feel nostalgic when thinking back to those golden elementary days when answer keys in the back of our textbooks provided us with an unshakable, absolute certainty in our knowledge of things. Contributing to a growing, evolving knowledge pool is much more rewarding though.
The problem arrives when we consider methods of implementation. We have to figure out appropriate kinds of group work that gets students to really “converse about and as a part of writing” (553). This won’t be easy. I know that I personally avoided discussion and group work like the plague early on in my undergraduate career. One question I guess I should ask myself is this: What could I do as a teacher to get students like me to engage in collaborative learning?
Ahhh, a fellow introvert! I too have had issues with group work and people reading my writing. Partly because my writing felt personal, and partly due to in inherent fear of (assumption of?) failure. You can't avoid group work as an English major though, and being forced to interact and share my work has helped me to become a better writer, and also more confident in my abilities. You are right. The real question now is, how do we make group work and peer review tolerable, and maybe even enjoyable, for our students? Hopefully, future articles and class discussions will provide us with some constructive ideas!
ReplyDeleteAnother thing Bruffee's article made me think about was people I remember from classes. I always remember a few people from classes I have taken because they were the ones that discussed different topics with the professor or other people in class. Those discussions always provided more knowledge about a subject, even if that knowledge was of something that is incorrect. After the discussion, I knew that idea was incorrect. This was in the setting of the whole class together, but the principle is the same. The social activity of it is what helped me and others learn more.
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