Enhancing student writing through cooperative learning in college composition classrooms

Abstract

As a former English and reading teacher at Argentine Middle School in Kansas City, Kansas, I anxiously anticipated the start of my teaching experience as a composition instructor at Arizona State University in August 2004. I wondered about issues of classroom management, pedagogy, and student motivation. I wondered if my teaching style would be too "elementary" for my adult students, and I wondered how they would react to the cooperative learning structures - like Round Robin and Mix Pair Share - I planned to implement in our classroom. My classroom experiences as an undergraduate student - though stimulating - were largely passive ones, in which I took copious notes while my instructors imparted knowledge. I wanted my students' experience to be different. I wanted my students and me to form a community of learners who benefit from each person's ideas, encouragement, and feedback.